Loud Legends
by Dusty Miller
Summary: Unpredictable matters always seem to happen around unpredictable knuckleheads. Dimension/Time Travel
1. Dying Boy

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. I've talked with Masashi Kishimoto about the whole thing, but when I came to his house for the third time in one day, he called for the men in white coats and they took me to a white fluffy room.

**Listening to while writing: **Skrillex – With you, Friends [Long Drive]

**Note:** This is a... derivative of an older story I published for the first time back in '06, so the matter of using certain elements (that you may find overused and clichéd) was in fact something new back then. I sincerely hope you'll enjoy this and if you've read my other stories, I hope you'll see an improvement regarding my writing and plot-making skills.

I also hope I'll get to see the number of favourite, alerts and reviews grow and surpass all my other stories. That would be remarkable. (:

**WARNINGS:**

**Coarse Language: **They can use pretty vulgar words sometimes.**  
>S.I: <strong>Self-inflicted injuries. You'll see what I mean if you continue to read.**  
>Suicidal thoughts: <strong>There'll be some suicidal thoughts on a certain character's behalf. Nothing much.**  
>OC's and OOCness: <strong>A claimer goes to my OC's; there will only be one or two and they're minor. As for the OOCness, it might not even be noticeable.**  
>AR: <strong>This takes place in an alternative reality.**  
>Spoilers: <strong>There will be a lot of spoilers, so you need to be up to date with the manga or you'll be in for a hell of a surprise.  
><strong>Metric System:<strong> I don't know shit about feet, inches, pounds and ounces, so I'm going to stick to the SI system (International System of Units).**  
>Grammar:<strong> I'm not good with grammar, not to mention my spelling, but I'm working on it.**  
>Character Deaths: <strong>People die sooner or later, and for some of the characters in this story it's the former. **  
>Mixed English: <strong>I'm not a native speaker. I tend to mix every single variety of the English language there is.  
><strong>Other Languages and Cultures:<strong> I will use other languages than English, namely Japanese and some Chinese. Their respective cultures will be involved as well.**  
>Drug Abuse and Smoking:<strong> I do not approve of drugs or smoking, but they'll have an involvement in the story.  
><strong>Dialogues:<strong> Some of the scenes and dialogues are borrowed from the manga.

* * *

><p><strong>Dying Boy<strong>  
><em>Betaed by Carrie2sky<em>

* * *

><p>Naruto scrunched his nose as he realised that everything around him was covered in fog; a thick fog that made it impossible to see more than five metres in any direction. He was glad there were no light though. He was sure it would have hurt his eyes.<p>

The blond coughed as he tried to inhale larger gulps of air. For some reason it felt as if it he was lying down with a rock on his sternum.

He looked down and frowned as he couldn't see anything lying on his torso.

"What the...?"

That was when he all but realised he was lying on air, arms stretched out by his sides and his head hanging loosely off his shoulders; titled back but without straining, as if being held by an invisible pillow.

Naruto rapidly blinked. He was floating? Soaring?

He made an effort to sit up, but instead managed to spin his entire body. Soon it felt like he was fluctuating around without gravity pulling at him; slowly turning around in circles as he had no sense of direction.

His eyes quickly moved from left to right as he noticed something in his peripheral vision. The long pieces of fabric from his hitai-ate was floating about as well. After studying them for a moment, he then took a look down at his body to see that his clothes were rippling off his body in waves.

Was he underwater?

Naruto licked his lips. Praying, to whoever was listening, that this was just his own imagination pulling his leg. Who knew, maybe ramen land was on the other side of this fog.

He took a new breath and the tightening of his airways it brought was anything but pleasant. To top it off, the yet-to-go-away pressure on his chest increased.

Frowning some more, he coughed violently and his gag reflexes decided to make themselves known. He tried to gulp down some more air but it resulted in him getting bile stuck in his throat.

Wherever the hell he was he was certain there was something wrong with the air. His lungs were now paying the price.

He mentally swore as he finally let his stomach content out.

With eyes closed, he dry-heaved for a few seconds. How much he _despised_ throwing up. Even after all those years with a regenerative furball in his belly he still got nauseous and threw up at times. Why the hell Kyūbi couldn't make sure he didn't get nauseated was something he'd questioned ever since he was twelve years old.

The thought left him quickly however, as he had his hands full with trying to actually breathe. Clawing at his throat in a weak attempt to expand his airways, he felt a small twinge of fear make itself known in the pit of his stomach.

If this was a dream, it all felt too realistic for his liking. He did not like the feeling of drowning when floating in what he assumed was air.

Suddenly he heard a splashing sound. He guessed that whatever had left his stomach had hit something. Another splashing sound was then heard and it made the blond lower his gaze in confusion as he continued to slightly cough.

That last sound had been a different one.

"Aaaah... a human, ey?"

Naruto lifted his head and spun it around.

What the fuck?

"Who's—" he coughed, "— who's t-there?" he asked, trying to locate something that could lead him to the owner of the voice.

He rarely dreamt of people talking to him, or about himself for that matter. It was always other people in focus with him being a bystander – or some abstract shit he couldn't understand no matter how much he thought about it.

Someone clicked with his or her tongue and Naruto felt the heat in his cheeks rise for some odd reason.

"Cannot breathe? How... unfortunate, ey?"

"Where a-am – I?" Naruto ignored what the other person had said. Instead he tried to conclude whether or not it was a male or female talking to him. The person was using such an epicene voice it was hard to tell the sex.

"Here. There. Everywhere," the voice answered. Naruto then noticed his body had started to move again; this time downwards.

His heartbeat quickened.

He had no idea where they were and in all honesty he was starting to feel his nerves get the better of him. Where was he? Why was he there? Was he dreaming? Why he floating? Why couldn't he breath? Who was this person?

Was all of this a fraction of his imagination? Iruka, his Academy teacher, had always said that his mind was a dangerous place.

Naruto couldn't help but agree at the moment.

His inhales were starting to get raspy, as if he was having an asthma attack, and they were becoming accompanied by tremors.

It was getting harder to control his body as it had started to turn during the trip downwards. Soon he was on his back once more; the pressure on his chest as strong as ever. He felt oddly smothered and he truly hoped that it would stop; simply stop. Dreams about asphyxia weren't something he even wished upon his worst enemy.

"I d-don't – know whe-e-ere – t-this is," Naruto re-joined, closing his eyes as he let a coughing fit wrack his body. He frowned and grabbed at his chest, above his lungs. "Why c-can't – I breeeeeathe...?" he wheezed out, his voice nearly disappearing into a high pitch.

"Pff," he could hear a rather womanlike chuckle and it made Naruto want to start yelling at the other person. This person knew exactly what was going on and was now having fun at his expense.

He wondered if he should damn his sadistic self to hell for playing tricks on him in the shape of delusions.

"You k-know... d-don't you?" he defied and felt a shiver run down his spine as he saw some formations appear. His body continued to spin and turn and within seconds he was upside down; all the blood rushing to his head, making it even harder to breathe.

He wanted to wake up.

"We have yet to come to an agreement. This scenario is something you will have to overcome if we are to do so however," the voice answered and Naruto frowned.

Wait, what?

What contract? Since when did you sign contracts in visualisations made up by your own mine?

"Contra-act—" He stopped to deeply inhale and then coughed once more. His noticed vision was getting worse due to lack of oxygen, "I-i-if you wa-wa-want a con-contract – s-signed yooou w-w-w-ouldn't – j-just k-k-kill me," Naruto retorted after a couple of seconds of silence.

He had no idea what was going to happen – what was currently happening. In all honesty, he was starting to see this as a rather failed joke. How he'd ended up here,_ why_ he'd ended up here, what had been going on _before_ he ended up here? He couldn't remember going to bed... so he couldn't be dreaming, could he? Had he been knocked out cold during a mission? Maybe Sakura was practising her genjutsu on him again?

He knew nothing but the fact that he wanted it to end.

Naruto gasped as he felt something touch his left calf. His eyes then widened as he felt a shiver works its way over his body, a foreign cold following it.

He tried to protest as the cold clamped down around his lungs. Nothing came out of his mouth however and for a few seconds his entire body stood still.

For the first time since ending up in this royally cocked up place, he felt a sense of true fright enter his system.

Everything was frozen until he felt something touch his head. He tried to look up at what it was but all he could see was his hair moving around his face. His body then began to spin again and he was soon facing up yet again. If one could call it that when mercilessly floating around.

At once, the blond noticed that the fog wasn't as thick as it had been before, he could actually see what the formations around him were this time. He narrowed his eyes.

Sushi?

Since when did sushi end up in his ramen fuelled dreams? He frowned and was just about to try and yell when he thought about it a second time.

Then it hit him.

It was seaweed.

...

...

_...seaweed...?_

He barely had time to comprehend what was going on as he all of a sudden hit a liquid surface.

Cold washed over his face and along with a gasp he could now breathe.

"Sh-shit... no! Wh-what the! N-no! _Damn it_!"

He took a huge gulp of air and then coughed some more before letting out random exclamations without meaning. It took him a few seconds to calm down, and then he realised he was coughing up water. The liquid ran down his chin and neck back into the water.

It took him another few seconds before he came to the realisation that he'd been under water up until now. So that was why he couldn't breathe.

He shakily inhaled.

That cold he'd felt before, around his legs and then his body. Had it been because he was drowning?

Shit. It had felt too real for comfort.

Did one die in real life if one died in dreams as realistic as this one? It really wouldn't surprise him. The sheer shock of it would make one comatose if anything.

"You made it, ey, Blond One," the voice spoke again and this time it was much closer, the tone stronger, the volume louder. "Most humans do not even realise they are beneath the surface until it is too late." The owner of the voice snorted. "You have shown yourself worthy of my time. Welcome to my... _humble_ abode."

Naruto continued to drift in the water as he gulped down large amounts of much needed air.

"That wasn't f-f-funny," he said after a while, teeth clattering due to the cold.

He frowned as he heard a laugh coming from somewhere to his right.

"You humans are too fulsome. You need to understand you cannot comprehend and have control over everything," the voice stated. Removing some blond strands that had plastered themselves too close to his eyes for comfort, Naruto scowled.

He didn't answer, instead he gathered some chakra in his limbs to be able and stand on the water. He could feel his legs start shaking from the near death experience so he crouched down and leaned on his hands, knees touching the water's surface.

"You know," the voice began and once more Naruto lifted his head in search for the owner, "when humans get in contact with us Kami it is because they want supernatural aid beyond their own capabilities. Most of them are so extravagant they think they may get it without having to pay a price."

Naruto bat an eyelid.

He'd called upon a supernatural being in his dream world?

"That's not t-true," he retorted, knowing she was wrong. "There are people that know t-the consequences of summoning spiritual b-beings," he continued and noticed that it was becoming easier to breathe. "The Yondaime Hokage of Konoha was one o-of them. He summoned the Shinigami a-and gave up his s-soul in return. He _knew_ the p-price he had to pay."

"Aaah, yes, the _Shinigami_." The way the voice emphasised the other kami made the blond blink a couple of times. Did this kami—

_Woah,_ wait and hold your horses.

Kami.

The voice had said something about summoning us _Kami_.

_Holy fuck, _he thought as he realised the situation. _Of all supernatural beings, a kami? Shit, this is bad. Why is this happening to me?_

He felt like causing damage to someone's head – preferably his own at the moment.

He clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt. Maybe his one and only inhabitant in Narutown knew anything about it.

_Kyūbi?_ he called out.

"It is futile, Blond One. You cannot summon that Bijū of yours to Kongōkai. The only ones existing at the moment are you and me," the voice explained as Naruto let the words sink in before he answered.

"Kongōkai?" Naruto asked while taking a look around.

Why was he getting the feeling that he'd done the unpredictable once again?

He was standing in the middle of a huge pond, surrounded by leafless trees (having shed their leaves a long time ago to let them fall to the ground). The colours orange, yellow and brown were showing themselves on the ground, creating a rather warm atmosphere. Had it not been for the pitch-black water and ominous fog around them, it would have been a beautiful part of a glade.

"Yes, Kongōkai. Where every deal between a human and Kami takes place. For being someone to summon me you do not seem to know much about it." A shape finally took form in the thick fog and Naruto's muscles tensed.

It was as if the person was being created out of the actual fog. He also noticed that the voice was now much more feminine than before.

"I have no idea how I summoned you," he evasively answered as he tried to focus upon the – was it a woman? – before him.

He noticed that his hearing and sight wasn't nearly as good as it had been; most likely due to the fact that Kyūbi wasn't residing within him at the moment.

He felt strangely hollow.

"Oh?" The woman seemed to be quite fascinated by this. She landed on the water's surface a couple of metres outside Naruto's vision. "That's... _interesting_." She rolled the r's and Naruto got the feeling that the kami he was dealing with wasn't of the most serious kind.

He snorted. What could he expect from his own imagination?

"Um... sure, extremely interesting," the blond mumbled under his breath as he finally got to see her shape from head to toe. "Why are you in a woman's body?" he then asked with genuine curiosity.

Said woman smirked back at him, her dark eyes reflecting mischief. "You did say I chuckled like a woman. This is the way you thought I would look like, hence it is the way I shall appear before you," she answered with a shrug and started to walk forwards.

Naruto frowned. She could read his mind? Because he damn well knew he hadn't _said _anything beneath the water, his thoughts had been spinning like crazy though.

He mentally slapped himself. Of course she could, she was a freaking _part _of his mind.

Naruto looked up at the kami, about to retort using sarcasm. But then he took notice to her clothing. He blushed as he realised she was only wearing a transparent grey veil around her body; nothing was left to the imagination.

"Err... you couldn't... er... wear something more concealing, could you?" he asked as he looked at her hair, trying not to stare at her body. Even though her skin held a sickly tint to it, she held the same feminine shapes as any other woman. Shapes he kind of appreciated a little too much at the moment.

The kami suddenly laughed and it made Goosebumps appear all over his body. It was heartless.

"You humans are so _pathetic_," she spat the last words and vaporised to quickly take form before the blond, holding a slim finger close to his jugular. It became longer and longer until it made up a needle-like tip. She could easily puncture a vein with that and he'd bleed to death.

Naruto looked at the finger, inspecting it. He narrowed his eyes as he took in all the detail. It held creases and callouses, yet it looked so soft.

"You are so easily distracted," she whispered and moved closer to him. "Temptation is a sin, Blond One," she added in a whisper.

Naruto blushed as he tried to keep eye contact with the taller woman. "That wasn't what I was getting at, I was just thinking about how... _cold_ it is. Yeah, you know, it's chilly out here and... and even _I_ feel cold."

Holy fuck. Trying to lie before a kami, he must have been stupider than he thought.

The woman backed away with a smile on her lips, her pitch black eyes never leaving his.

"Yes, you are stupid, ey?" Yep, she'd read his mind. "You're the one who should stop shouting them out for everyone to hear. Block your mind, Blond One."

She abruptly turned around and started to walk away. Naruto wasn't sure if he should follow her or not and decided to stay put. It appeared to be the right choice as she stopped and turned once more, her long hair moving around her.

"Now, onto business," she continued and waved with her hand. A scroll appeared; a red signet embedded where the paper ended, sealing the scroll together. "Apparently, you have been sent here without notice, ey?" Her voice was still as playful as before and it made Naruto somehow doubt her abilities.

That clicking sound of a tongue interrupted him again.

"You should not judge a book by its cover," she continued in a faked hurt voice.

Naruto cleared his throat. He really should stop thinking all together. "Pardon," he apologetically murmured and she continued.

"First things first then, do you even know who I am?" she asked and Naruto frowned. He had no idea really.

"You're a goddess?" he asked in a tight voice.

"I am Amaterasu, to be more precise," she answered and opened the scroll that lifted itself into the air. "Now, this contract I hold before me is a contract of agreement. If you sign this, there is no turning back. You will live according to your wished change after this."

Woah, woah, woah, say what?

He didn't even know why he was here, why was he going to sign a contract?

"Wish?" Naruto asked as he looked at the contract that had somehow grown in size and was now bigger than the two of them. It covered his vision and the text on it was written in a foreign language; making it impossible for him to read.

"Yes, a wish." For some reason, she sounded blue after saying so. "There are so many things humans want to change in their lives, ey? Here is your very own chance."

The blond teen arched both brows. His subconscious was fucking with his true conscious. Spewing crazy shit like this.

"Your vocabulary is outstanding..." Amaterasu sneered.

Naruto ignored her. "I could change something?" he asked instead, wanting to slap himself silly for sounding a bit hopeful. It was a rather nice thought after all, no matter how selfish it might be.

"Yes," she answered and Naruto felt his mouth go dry. "And remember, it is an agreement between a kami and a human, not an agreement between two beings. The kami, I, will decide whether or not to actually give the human, you, something in return of a favourable price. If the human, you, cannot give the kami, me, anything apposite, the kami, me, may do as they see fit with the human, you."

Naruto swallowed as he bit his lower lip. "I don't really like the sound of that," he then said and backed away as he looked down into the dark water. By doing so, he missed the dark shadow crossing Amaterasu's facial features. "Gambling is for Tsunade-no-baa-chan only."

Amaterasu tilted her head. "I am not wasting my time on something that will not happen. You will be disposed of as I see fit if you do not feel like coming to an agreement. After all, the only reason you are here is so that you can either get your signature on that contract or to die," she said in a stern voice, the playfulness gone as a thin finger pointed at the contract by her side.

Naruto looked up and met her ire head on.

"You're threatening me?" he asked and immediately regretted it as her face hardened.

With arms crossing, she replied, "Threatening you? There is no need for me to threaten you," she answered with a sneer. "What I am saying is that when you gamble you have got to be prepared to lose as well as win, ey? From the moment you summoned me – whether it was on your own accord or not – you started your gambling. You are currently gambling your life, your existence. If you say you want to 'drop out', to 'quit', I will win automatically."

Naruto stared at her, dumbfounded. This chick was rather creepy...

"But I didn't even summon you! I don't know how I ended up here! And now you're giving me an ultimatum?" he asked with a twinge of anxiety in his voice. "Either I don't want to gamble and I die – you getting my soul most likely – or I could agree with you, and then what?"

The playfulness returned and the blond felt himself wondering if he truly was dreaming of if he somehow had actually ended up summoning both a kami and a huge fucking problem.

"You choose what you want me to do for you," she answered.

He looked at her and let the words sink in. So basically, he could change or... just do something that was completely irrelevant towards the world as it was, or he could die? Tough choice.

"And of course, you have to give me something in return. For you to stay true to your part of the deal that is; it is no fun if only one can win, ey?" Her face was currently hidden behind her dark hair (as it was currently moving around her head with a life of its own) but Naruto knew she was leering.

He decided not to mention that she'd be the only one winning if he died. He'd provoked her enough.

"Soo... what would that be? What could I ask for?" He was becoming more and more suspicious. This was all becoming too real for it to be a mere dream. It had to be a genjutsu.

Genjutsu, genjutsu, genjutsu. Maybe he should try and release it. It was always worth a try, even though he was utterly useless at genjutsu. He'd go as far as to say that he was better at fūinjutsu than genjutsu, and he wasn't particularly skilled in that area either.

He was just about to place his hands into a hand seal for 'release' when Aaterasu noticed.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's not a genjutsu, Blond One. How many times do I have to tell you that you have summoned me here?" She arched an impeccably shaped brow at him. "Normally I would get your soul without you having a say in it, but since you are a Jinchūriki I have... kind of decided to be lenient. After all, with you alive things will turn out to be so much more fun," she answered him with a small smirk.

She then vaporised and took form before Naruto, touching his chin with her pointy fingers.

Naruto's breath hitched from the closure. His facial features then turned more serious. Why would it be more fun if he stayed alive? Because he was a Jinchūriki?

"Lenient?" he asked instead and swallowed some saliva; his eyes narrowed. He carefully chose his next words, "Do you want Kyūbi?"

She smiled as she studied his face. Leaning in, Naruto felt a blush rise to his face. She then moved away from him and back to the scroll that was still dangling in the air a couple of metres ahead.

"I do not," was her answer and the blond blinked a couple of times at this. "I want to hear what you have got to offer. If you can offer me something I deem worthy enough, I will make this deal with you. If you cannot, I get your soul as a price of disturbance. We kami tend to have a thing for collecting souls after all."

The teen felt his jaws clench. "Even without me making a request you will take my soul?" he demanded.

"Yes," she cheerfully answered with a smile. Moving behind the contract she then disappeared for a moment. Having no idea where she went Naruto could only try and listen as the next words were spoken from an unknown direction, "For me, it is a win-win situation, for you on the other hand, it is more of a... an ultimatum, to use your own words."

Naruto let his eyes wander over the reflecting surface of the water, finally understanding what was really happening to him. He wondered if perhaps Kyūbi had made his way from his stomach and up into his mind to mess with him.

He felt the kami's presence before he saw her this time, and then she appeared before him once more.

She did not show any emotion as she stared at him.

The silence stretched out and Naruto waited for her to say something, not knowing if he should be the one to break it.

"Well, Blond One?" she suddenly asked.

"Well what?" he retorted within half a second.

"Have you come up with your part of the deal?" she enquired, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The part where you actually make your offering?"

Thinking about it, he thought more of what she'd _like_ to have from him rather than what he thought was plausible to give up.

"I... I... I don't know," he honestly answered, looking down at his feet as a frown took its place between golden brows.

Amaterasu rolled her eyes. "You could at least give me something to work with. There is no fun in it if _I_ have to come up with it all."

Naruto quickly looked up at her. "I'm just... not sure what _you'd_ want from _me_," he said in a tight voice.

The woman tilted her head to the side once more, all the while smirking. Naruto's lips tightened.

"I'm serious," he said, not truly knowing if her smirk was because of disbelief or knowledge unknown to him. "I've got no idea what you'd like from me that you don't already have. I'm just human. What could be so special except for the giant Bijū residing within me, boosting my chakra—"

"I like chakra," she suddenly uttered and Naruto stopped talking in confusion.

"Chakra?" he repeated.

Amaterasu merely arched a brow in response, as if challenging him. "Chakra," she deadpanned.

The both of them stayed silent for a few seconds after that. During this, the raven female kept that knowing glance on Naruto, making the blond feel at the more uncomfortable.

"Kami," she started in a soft voice, "are not allowed to have access to something, _anything,_ like chakra. It is something purely human and it shall remain that way. It is something only humans are able to reciprocate as well. We can enjoy it for shorter periods of time however. You could say we see it as a sort of... delicacy."

Oh yeah, of course they _ate_ it of fall things.

Naruto sighed and felt the need to punch himself for mentioning his chakra. Sakura did say he tended to talk before thinking.

But he had to get out of this one way or another, even if it was to a ridiculous price.

He could feel his temper scratching on the surface of his façade, wanting to bare its teeth. He wanted to get home, and it was frustrating that this deity was seeing this as a game.

"What do you say then? I would like your chakra in return for me doing you a favour of granting your wish. Sounds great, ey?" Amaterasu then concluded with a childlike smile on her lips.

_Fucking brilliant, _Naruto thought sarcastically as he raked a hand through his hair. "About my chakra, I—"

"No buts, I have come to the conclusion that the best price to pay – except for with your soul – is with your chakra. I _know_ that you have very big reserves even without the help of that Bijū of yours. I also know that you treasure your chakra very much. Hence a perfect sacrifice on your part."

She was a sadist. That much was clear.

"Yeah I get that, but isn't there anything else—"

"No."

He didn't even get to finish his sentence.

"The fact that you are rather reluctant in giving it up makes it all so much more appealing to me, Blond One. You do not want to lose it. It is very obvious," she said and chuckled, the sound making Naruto bite the inside of his cheek. "I think you giving up your chakra would be a good compensation for your soul. Your entire life has been built upon it. That is... if you _genuinely _can't come up with something even better to offer me..."

_Bitch, _Naruto thought as he clenched his jaws.

"Ah-ah-ah," Amaterasu scolded with a finger in the air, and then she was in front of him again. "What did I tell you about your thoughts, Blond One? I can hear them very _– very – _clearly."

He narrowed his eyes.

Amaterasu studied his face with pitch-black eyes while he glared back at her, fighting down the urge to shiver again. She was intimidating yes, but not scary; never scary.

"You are a very disrespectful one. Perhaps I am being too soft," she added as an afterthought.

Naruto scrunched his nose and she let out a laugh.

"What are you doing?" he queried as she then moved onwards towards the contract. With a wave of her hand a quill appeared and she looked at the contract with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Oi! What are you writing?"

He'd never liked getting ignored.

"Oh, me?" Amaterasu innocently asked as she pointed at herself with her free hand. "I'm just adding the part about your chakra," she answered with a shrug. Naruto scowled. "However, it now also states that if you can come up with something else that interests me you will be rewarded accordingly and _not_ lose your chakra."

Feeling the pressure, Naruto licked his dry lips. What could she possibly want from him that would be seen as enough?

The kami finished the text with a nice curve and then, with a new wave of her hand, the quill disappeared from sight with smoke surrounding it.

Amaterasu turned towards him again.

"Since I am – or at least appear to be – something very evil in your eyes—" she smirked as he paled, "—I thought: why not make this even more interesting? I like playing games. To _gamble_. So, from now on, you have got sixteen minutes to come up with an offer, if – or when – those sixteen minutes are up; my part of the deal will be executed."

Naruto looked up at her and then tilted his head to take a look at the large paper behind her. Why sixteen minutes? Fifteen would be more understandable.

"You added something else, didn't you?" he asked after a couple of seconds of thought.

"You are most likely never going to summon upon a kami after this, so what does it matter? Not that someone has ever been able to summon a kami twice, with the whole 'pay with your soul' thing we have got going on," Naruto couldn't help but smile at that. She did indeed appear very humanoid from time to time. "But to the point; yes I did."

When she didn't continue her explanation he closed his eyes and let the air leave him with a big sigh.

"Why are you not telling me?" he queried with frustration seeping into his voice.

Amaterasu smirked at the desired reaction. "Where would the fun be in that?" she mocked him and crossed her arms over her chest.

Naruto let a golden brow arch. "When making a deal, aren't both parties to know what they're agreeing upon?" he asked.

Amaterasu smiled in answer.

Naruto continued. "I'll find out sooner or later anyway."

She clicked her tongue and let her eyes wander in an eerie way before they locked themselves at something on the bottom of the pond.

"It would be rather fitting with a 'later' in your situation," she answered.

A tan hand raked through blond hair as Naruto pondered over it.

He knew he ultimately would have to sign the contract, which was the only thing that was for certain. He'd either die, letting the rest of his friends fight Akatsuki and that Tobi guy on their own – with a huge possibility of them loosing – or he'd make a deal with a kami and see what could happen. If he did wish for something – _changed _something – would his friends be the same? Would Kakashi still be his sensei? Would Jiraiya be alive? Would he be a part of Team Seven? Would—

"You tend to forget about me being able to hear your thoughts quite quickly, ey?" Amaterasu reminded him as she arched an elegant brow at the blond.

"Eeh..." Naruto really didn't know what to say to that. "Sorry?" he finally managed to say, though it appeared to be more of a question than a true apology.

"Now, you have got fifteen minutes left and time is ticking," she told him.

Naruto blinked. What was up with these minutes? "What happens when my time's up?" he cautiously asked.

The woman blinked, before letting a malicious grin take its place on her lips. "Your soul is mine, and you die," she said.

Naruto felt himself go pale.

"What happened to my deal about my chakra?"

Amaterasu smirked. "Well, I thought that, since I gave you the opportunity of coming up with a third option, we'll go back to the deal with your soul. I'll get your soul and chakra id you do not sign the contract. If you sign the contract without coming up with a third option, I'll only get your chakra. I can harvest souls, I cannot harvest chakra"

Well shit. There were a lot of different things encompassing this deal it seemed, and he liked none of them.

If his time was or wasn't up _without_ him signing the contract, he'd die and Amaterasu would get his soul and chakra. If his time was or wasn't up _with_ him signing the contract, Amaterasu would still get his chakra and he'd most likely go back to his world during different circumstances. If he signed the contract _and_ came up with something the kami liked much better than his chakra within the time limit then—

"You will find yourself worthy the respect of a kami," a soft voice said from behind him.

Blue eyes opened, not having realised they'd closed.

Naruto turned his head to the side and met Amaterasu's dark, bottomless, eyes – even darker than Sasuke's, he mused.

"However, time still matters and it is ticking away before your very eyes," she added with a smile yet again gracing her facial features.

She vaporised to appear next to the contract, an unreadable expression in place on her face once more.

The teen let his eyes wander over to the contract before him. It was a plausible deal, so why not? He had no idea what Amaterasu would see as a bigger winning than getting his chakra though. That was the only problem with the whole agreement.

"Tick, tock."

Naruto merely snorted and started to slowly walk towards the contract. When he was standing in front of it he lifted a hand to where he was supposed to sign. Before his very eyes, a new quill appeared. It wasn't the same one as Amaterasu had used; this one was much smaller.

He hesitated, and it was all it took for the woman to giggle evilly and bump into his arm so that he made a line on the paper.

The ink was green.

"See, now you have got to finish what you started," she said and smirked, vaporising before his eyes.

He exhaled through his nose. "If I can come up with something before my time runs out, it will automatically integrate itself with the deal, won't it?" he asked.

He nearly shrieked as Amaterasu's head came through the paper before him, locking eyes as she invaded his personal bubble.

"That is correct, Blond One," she answered and removed herself from the paper, letting her body dance around the contract before settling by Naruto's side.

He frowned at her from his peripheral vision before turning his head back to the document.

Clenching his jaws, he signed his name with quick and practised movements. The katakana and hiragana characters glowed a bit before becoming a darker green.

It was permanent.

"Now _that_ is brilliant, ey?" a voice said from behind him and he tensed.

He turned his head and noticed that she was grinning even wider than before.

"One of the reasons for me helping you is because you have proven yourself worthy of my time," she suddenly said, awakening curiosity within Naruto. "You managed to summon me. You did not drown. You are not cowering in fear. You said no the first time I offered you this. You value your chakra higher than anything else, yet here you are _gambling _it. You are simply a worthy candidate of my game."

She stopped for a moment.

Naruto was beginning to feel some confusion seep into his conscious. Why was she telling him this?

"You have never asked for much in return in life. You received abuse and ignorance from the people of your own village. A village you are ready to protect with your _life._ You have shown altruism and esteem, and that is _always _valued in the eyes of kami. We created you, so when we see you use what we have given you to the extent of our best expectations... let us just say we appreciate it and sometimes see it fit to reward you. Like you humans would a domesticated pet," she continued and floated over behind the contract.

A new wave with her hand and the paper was gone.

Naruto felt his shoulders drop a little as he heard this. It was not what he'd expected, but as he thought about it, it actually made some sense.

This situation was getting weirder by the moment.

He narrowed his eyes as he asked something that was beginning to bug him, "You see us humans as your pets?"

Amaterasu showed her pearly white teeth before her hair flowed up and around her, covering her mouth and eyes briefly.

"Of course," she said.

Naruto scoffed, deciding not to retort to it as he knew he'd only let his temper steer his words.

"Do you know what it is I've always wanted?" he couldn't help but ask, not knowing if she knew this or not.

Her mouth twitched a little. "No."

"You don't know?" the blond growled as he rubbed his head with a calloused hand. She knew about his life, but not about his mind? What the f—

"Ah, ah, ah. Language." She held up a finger as she scolded him like a mother would a child. "You have got an extremely potty mouth, have you not?"

Naruto arched his brows and looked her straight in the eyes. "Apparently I do."

Amaterasu didn't show amusement this time, she merely gave him a calculating look. The blond stared back at her with wonder in his eyes.

"Time's ticking," Amaterasu suddenly interrupted him. Blue eyes narrowed as she played with a piece of her hair all the while looking at him.

"Normally, we kami do not help you humans in making your decisions. But it is rather tedious to just take and give lives all the time. Sometimes I like to fill my existance with other events, and I always did like... gambling."

The teen blinked a couple of times.

"You've lost me," he then responded and crossed his arms as he stared at her with an indolent kind of boredom. What was she getting at all of a sudden?

Amaterasu rolled her eyes. "That is because you are a... what was it, ah yes... a _dobe_," she replied and sighed before moving over the surface they were standing upon.

Naruto was about to retort when she held up a hand, making him stop. "I am only going to do this once." He looked at her intently, wonder showing in his eyes.

Why was she helping him if she wanted his chakra or soul?

"Because this is so much more fun than merely giving and taking lives, did you not hear what I just said?" she asked him and arched an offended brow. "Who is your mentor?"

Naruto thought about it for a while before answering. "Well, my last one was Ero-sennin."

"Oh, and before that?"

"Kakashi-sensei."

"And before that?"

She was quick with the questions. Naruto barely had the time to think.

"Iruka-sensei."

"Do you love him?"

Blue eyes blinked. "I'm fond of him, as he was kind of a father figure as I grew up. I'd say I love him, yeah."

"Did you love Jiraiya? He was your Godfather after all."

Naruto felt a lump in his throat as he stared at her.

She arched a brow as if urging him on and he finally understood why she was asking these questions so quickly. We wouldn't be able to think before answering, not that it usually was a problem.

"Well, did you love him?"

The playfulness had disappeared from her face, being replaced with a stone-cold face.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He was family."

"What about the rest of your family? You mentioned this Iruka was your father figure."

He wasn't sure if she already knew the answers to these questions or not, but he answered anyway. "They're dead. I never knew my parents."

"Who raised you?"

A dark shadow passed Naruto's features. "I basically raised myself, but I got help from the old man and some of the orphanages."

"'Old man?'" Amaterasu repeated and the blond nodded.

"Yeah, the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen."

The kami tilted her head at this. "Were you close?"

"Rather."

"Hmm, how did he die?"

Naruto inhaled before starting to explain the rather emotional answer. He'd never truly got over the old man's death.

"He lost his life when sealing away that snake-bastard's arms into the stomach of the Shinigami."

Amaterasu's eyes darkened drastically as she heard this. "Oh yes, you mentioned the _Shinigami _before. Your village seems to like him."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he heard that. This was the second time she'd talked about the other kami as if he were a pest. Was there something going on here or was he imagining things?

"Very well, who is this 'snake-bastard'?" she quoted.

"Orochimaru, one of the three Sannin; Jiraiya's teammate to be more exact. He's a psychotic maniac with a fascination for experimenting on anything biological, mostly humans. Especially those with the Sharingan." He snorted as he thought about a certain Uchiha. "He'd dead now though."

"And who might this Uchiha be?" she asked as the blond mentally slapped himself for forgetting her mind reading abilities.

"Uchiha Sasuke. We've known each other since a little before we entered the academy at the age of five respectively six. I met him a couple of times before that though. I guess we officially became acquaintances when we were both six."

"Acquaintances?"

"Yeah. We've always had a love-hate relationship; being mere acquaintances, then rivals, and then friends and now enemies."

"When did he change?"

"He got an offer from the snake bastard of course. It was an offer for power. Sasuke wanted the power to kill his brother. He's an avenger."

Amaterasu clicked her tongue once more. "Why did he want to kill his own brother? Someone of his own flesh and blood?"

"Because Itachi killed their clan; leaving Sasuke as the only survivor."

"So Sasuke loved his clan enough to kill his now only living family member?"

Naruto frowned. "I... I guess so."

"Would you have done the same?"

This question put the blond off. He looked up at Amaterasu and then down at the water's surface, biting the inside of his cheek as he did so. Would he actually kill his own family? Kill his only connection to the love and warmth you could only get from a family?

He inhaled deeply. "No, I would not."

"Why?"

"Because..." He thought about it for a few seconds before answering, "because I would still love them. They're family and I can't just _kill_ them. I guess I'd see it all differently if I were to be in Sasuke's shoes, but still... killing them would be the last thing on my mind." He narrowed his eyes a little before deciding to add something else to that. "The Shinigami—"

"Do not mention his name in my presence." Her voice wasn't stern or scolding, merely informing as she said this.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk as he heard that. So she _did_ have something against the other kami? He hadn't imagined it after all.

"You've got eleven minutes left," she suddenly said, changing the subject.

She did not continue asking him question and Naruto took that as her not wanting to continue their small game of words and no thinking.

Naruto thought deeply about it.

He didn't know what he'd like to wish for, so that left him with trying to come up with a different deal that at least left him with a positive outcome. The biggest question was how could he come up with something she'd surely agree upon rather than taking his chakra? He didn't want to change his life; he wanted to keep his friends, his sensei and his career as a shinobi.

He stopped in his thinking as he realised something.

"I can't be a ninja, can I?" he asked and frowned as he looked at Amaterasu. "If I'm giving up my chakra, that is."

She merely looked at him and so the blond took it as a yes. Alright, he hadn't really given that much though. He most _certainly _had to come up with something else. Being a ninja – and one day Hokage – was his dream. He couldn't give that up so easily.

It was what had kept him going, even during the toughest of times in his life.

He knew that there was still a small possibility of him being a ninja without chakra. Lee was a grand example of that, though it simply wouldn't be the same. His prime offense depended on chakra, ninjutsu.

He closed his eyes and thought more deeply about it. If he asked for something about the Shinigami perhaps? She seemed to react unexpectedly when he mentioned him.

"You have got quite the way of thinking, ey?" Amaterasu suddenly interrupted as she appeared before him once more, studying his facial features. "I believe I just told you I do not appreciate it when his name is uttered in my presence."

Naruto stared at her from behind blonde fringes. He felt a twitch in his left hand as he took in her intimidating eyes that were currently boring holes into his soul.

He furrowed his brows as Amaterasu disappeared again and left him standing there all alone. He looked out over the water and closed his eyes once more.

He wondered what would be the wisest thing to do.

* * *

><p>Kneeling on the water's surface, staring into its depth, Naruto was still thinking about his situation and what to do. He'd already signed the contract so if he wanted to get out of this with his chakra intact he seriously needed to come up with something.<p>

He had a hunch that he should take his chances with Amaterasu's obvious dislike towards the Shinigami, but he had no idea how he could do so. He had no connection whatsoever to the God of Death (if you didn't count Kyūbi being within him because of a deal with mentioned 'God').

"Pff."

The blond looked up and saw the Amaterasu was toying with fish in the water beneath— wait. Fish? They lived here?

"Your attention span is worse than the fish you are thinking about," Amaterasu suddenly stated as Naruto looked back to the woman from the fish that had caught his interest.

"Huh?"

Amaterasu shook her head. "It does not matter."

The teen scoffed in annoyance and went back to watching the fish, a bit more aggravated than before.

"...whatever," the blond muttered under his breath.

Amaterasu leered at him. "Now, now, do not be rude."

He felt the seriousness once more settle over the small pond.

"Choose wisely, _Naruto_, and you will see that humans can change some of the paranormal," Amaterasu stated slowly.

Perhaps it was the fact that she'd used his given name for the first time that made him react to what she'd said. This whole situation was weird; Amaterasu's words even weirder. He knew there was nothing he could give her personally, nothing he could offer so that he'd still keep his chakra.

He was screwed no matter what, he just hadn't come to realise it yet.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked the kami before him, frustration leaping into his voice. "I've got no idea what to give you. I can't give you anything it seems."

"Then you give up your chakra," she calmly told him with a shrug. "With that part of the deal out of the way, all you have to worry about then is what you would like to change, what you would like to wish for."

Naruto sighed and let his body fall back so that he too was lying on the surface of the water. He closed his eyes and let them wander over the thick fog that covered the blue skies he imagined above.

Frowning he decided to ask, "Can I er... 'feign' something that you may find more interesting than my chakra?"

Amaterasu looked at him as if offended. "Feign?" she asked and started to draw circles in the water; Naruto feeling the ripples make their way to his body. It was quite soothing actually, but it did not help him in making a decision.

"Yeah. I mean, it doesn't have to be me giving you something but rather me coming up with an _idea_ that appeals to you?" he explained.

It took a few seconds for Amaterasu to show she understood, and she did so by humming.

"Could that work?" Naruto asked again.

Amaterasu shook her head. "No, not really. This deal is formed so that whatever the outcome is it has to do with you. It can be in form of a belonging, a person, a hobby, a memory or ability. The list goes on."

He grimaced in frustration.

Amaterasu sighed and rolled over so that she too was lying on her back, and then she sat up.

"You need to know you purpose. You are currently running around in circles, Blond One." She looked over her shoulder and stared at the blond head a couple of metres away from her. "Do you _know_ what you want to achieve with this? A purpose is what makes you keep on going. You want to achieve it so badly, but for what? To do something for yourself? To compensate for something you've lost? The questions are endless as the answers to them are as well."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he tried to understand her allegories. It was better to keep quiet so that she'd keep on helping him.

Amaterasu stood up once more and started to walk in a circle around the blond. "If you know what you want in life, you will know what to ask of me, it's as simple as that."

His eyes closed but if they'd remained open one would see the concentration within them.

"I know I want to keep my chakra—" Amaterasu smirked, "—but I want to be happy more than have something aid me through life. I—" he frowned a little as he let his eyes wander over the artificial skies in this realm.

An idea was forming in his mind and it was becoming bigger and much clearer, he just had to know something else.

"Is it possible for me to strike a deal involving a third party? I know you said I can't give you an _idea_, but to involve someone else – connecting them to me of course – should be possible, shouldn't it?"

Amaterasu arched a brow. "Yes, technically that is possible," she answered and disappeared in smoke, before reappearing above him, floating in the air. "However, it depends on what third party we are discussing."

Said blond smiled as he processed this, finding holes in the given information so that he could make it possible to involve this third someone. If she liked what he was about to present to her, it was possible for him to actually keep his chakra intact...

Amaterasu smiled before him and then disappeared once more.

Suddenly Naruto felt his clothes starting to become wet and he looked down at his body with a frown. His chakra should prevent his clothes from absorbing liquid, so why were they doing so?

His eyes then widened as he realised he was sinking into the water.

"What the—?!"

He quickly sat up and tried to use chakra to level his body, but for some reason he felt extremely drained. He decided to wholly disconnect his chakra and it resulted in him falling completely into water, submerging under the surface before reappearing again and taking a deep breath.

"Seven minutes left, Blond One. And I would actually like to know who this... _third party_... of yours is. If it is good enough, I will use that instead of taking your chakra. However..." Amaterasu's voice was distant just as before, making Naruto wonder if he was underneath the surface again, but when he took another breath he could breathe just fine, "...depending on what this may result in, you may not be able to get your wish after all."

Naruto's eyes widened as a small howl left his lips. "What the fuck?!" he enquired as he started to tread water, an angry scowl making its way onto his facial features. "You can't just change the agreement like that!"

She wrinkled her nose as if having smelt something bad. "I know you work better under pressure. That is when you make the best choices for some reason," she mused, ignoring the confused blond at first. She cleared her throat. "To be more precise; your idea involving this third party may also involve a wish or change in itself. You will then combine your price and request, hence you cannot make another wish."

He was about to yell at her again, when he suddenly felt something clench around his body, draining him even more than before. It was the most horrid feeling he'd felt. To literally feel his chakra disappear from his body left him strangely empty and lonely: it was not an encouraging feeling.

Choking on air, he exclaimed, "Okay, okay! Just stop draining me of my chakra!"

The pressure did not leave his body.

He tried to get his pulse to calm down and his mind to stop thinking of the fact that he could feel his energy disappearing.

The pressure suddenly tightened to a degree where he almost screamed, before suddenly, it just let go.

He was quivering (from the cold water or the experience, he wasn't sure), all the while trying to catch his breath. Finally being able to hear his surroundings again, without his heart beating like crazy in his ears, he hadn't realised that Amaterasu had been staring at him the whole time, awaiting an answer.

When not speaking for over ten seconds he was suddenly pulled down under the surface to be released only after a couple of milliseconds; leaving him inhaling air vigorously.

"Shit, don't do that!" he screamed out, not having it with the unreasonable treatment.

"Then let me know who this third party of yours is."

"Shit... sheesh... right, you don't like the Shinigami, do you?" he asked, licking his lips as he prepared to hold his breath.

Amaterasu appeared before him and she did not seem to be happy.

"You already know the answer," she said.

Naruto looked at her with wide eyes before feeling the pressure around his body starting yet again. His body was going numb and his vision blurred.

"Well... what if I could ask of something that will result in something bad happening to him?" he proposed, and immediately he could feel the pressure leave his body.

"Oh?," she asked. "And what do you think this 'something' may be?" she asked in a genuinely interested tone.

Naruto gulped as he gathered air in his lungs. "I... I thought, why not make this a win-win situation," he began and let his eyes meet hers without breaking. "We both dislike the Shinigami. If he's pissed we're most likely to be happy, right? Win-win situation, as I said."

Amaterasu moved her body so that she was lying on the surface, her face mere decimetres from Naruto's. The blond's breath hitched.

"Continue," she probed.

"Er... how about me asking of you to remove one of the souls from his stomach? Sending this person back to life once more?" he asked.

Personally, he liked this idea; since Amaterasu seemed to hate the Shinigami so much he could use it to his personal advantage. And yes, he was extremely selfish for the moment, but he wanted to keep his chakra. Without it, he would lose such a big part of his life, and who knew what would happen to Kyūbi. With no chakra in his system, he didn't know if the seal would break. Also, the person getting brought back to life could be the Sandaime, someone he'd held very dear in his life, or even the Yondaime.

He continued to explain his idea. "If this person got to be alive again, it would make the Shinigami appear conquerable. Don't think he'll appreciate that, will he?"

The teen awaited Amaterasu's response as she looked at him with unblinking eyes, staring into his very core. He didn't know if she was debating whether or not it was an idea she deemed worthy enough as 'payment', per say.

"He wouldn't like it," the blond repeated himself. "And you would seem... better than him? Since you're the one to defy him?" He should just shut up, he knew that, but his nerves were pressuring him into getting the hell out of this situation, and he usually did so by talking.

Amaterasu snorted as she still held eye contact. "You are the first one to ever notice my dislike for another kami and then _use_ it to your own advantage. Bravo, Blond One, bravo. Had I stood up, you would have received a standing ovation."

She clapped her hands three times before letting a sneer out upon her lips.

"It would anger him even more if this soul he loses will make people happy, wouldn't it?"

The kami mused upon this as she got up from the water and started to walk – or rather, float – in circles around Naruto's head once more.

"Yes," she answered, "it most definitely would."

Naruto kept quiet.

He was certain that if he let his mouth do more of the job without his brain getting a share in it, he would lose his chakra anyway.

Amaterasu snorted again, giving him a glance before she let her index finger rest on her lower lip. She turned to him with a smirk.

"You have managed what no other human has done in a long, long time, Blond One; striking a deal with a kami and _nearly_ only gaining something from it. You even made it with six minutes left of your time."

She shrugged and then turned around to walk away, letting the fog eat her body.

Naruto reacted instantly. "W-wait! Where are you going?!" he yelled after her.

The kami giggled before turning her head to the left, letting the blond see her face in profile.

He couldn't hear her last words as Amaterasu smirked and the blond felt his body fall down into the water once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Amaterasu looks something like the Goddess Eris from the film Sinbad. Also, search for damnengine on dA and the picture "Fog Amsterdam Forest" to see what kind of pond and fog I've thought about while writing this scene.<strong>

**Want to answer some questions of mine? They will help, believe it or not. You will be able to steer the plot and the characters' behaviours/appearances.**

**1) **Does it matter much to you that the scenes contain your favourite character? Who is your favourite anyway?**  
>2) <strong>I'm wondering... if you _have_ to choose, who do you prefer to see in action; Hatake Kakashi or Uchiha Sasuke?**  
>3) <strong>Do you prefer short chapters (4-5k) with quick updates, or longer chapters (8-9k) with longer in between updates?

**Cheers.**


	2. An Inverse Reappearance

**Note: **This took quite a while to write, and I apologise. We all know how school tend to dominate life when young. Though I do find it necessary to tell you that I appreciate all the attention you readers have been giving this story and me. It means a lot to me, so thank you. Also, would you like to see more of Amaterasu later on or have you had enough of her?

* * *

><p><strong>An Inverse Reappearance<strong> _  
>Betaed by Carrie2sky<em>

* * *

><p>Running through the ruins of Konoha in search for the Hokage, Hatake Kakashi felt his breath leave his lungs as he came to a sudden halt.<p>

He had taken notice to Sakura, whom was talking to some of the other medic-nins. Some of them were tendering to the injured, but not the woman in question.

The silver haired man rushed forwards as he deactivated his Sharingan, "Sakura," he said.

The pinkette turned her head and green eyes took in the form of her sensei. Mentioned eyes narrowed.

"What you doing here?" she harshly asked as a frown found its place between her brows. "Who knows what's going on out there?! You're needed on the field if anything!"

She put her hands on her hips as she studied the man from head to toe. He looked horrible to be honest; literally drenched in dirt and bodily fluids, his headband gone and his face gaunt.

She voiced her thoughts.

"That doesn't matter. What truly matters is that Naruto has yet to come back from his fight with Pein," Kakashi answered, avoiding the subject of his health and appearance.

He'd been running for a long time and his body was going through a lot of strain at the moment, but yet, the worry he felt for his lost student got first priority.

"Several Chūnin and Jōnin have gone out to look for him. I'm on my way out now to join them," he added as sudden worry made its way across her features.

He didn't mention the fact that he'd found Jiraiya's first book along with a pretty big bouquet of flowers located in a small clearing in the woods. He knew it was Naruto who'd set it up, and that Konan most likely had given those flowers to him – as they were origami flowers. But where was the boy now?

Sakura frowned. "He's missing?" she probed. "How can he just go missing?"

Kakashi narrowed his open eye and debated whether or not he should tell her the possibilities of Naruto actually having lost his life in battle. Pein was no easy foe.

He shook his head, determining that she already knew the likelihood and needed not be reminded.

"As I said, our shinobi are out searching for him. I thought you'd want to be informed," he answered, echoing his previous words. He then let his eyes wander over the sight around them.

He took notice of a medic-nin helping a young woman stand up. She was seemingly unscratched it appeared, and quite frankly, it had the Jōnin confused. Hundreds of lives – if not _thousands_ – should have been lost during the battle. Though up until now, he had yet to encounter any losses. Everyone seemed to be fine.

Kakashi knew there was something extraordinary going on, as he was positively sure he'd met his father in that clearing. He would have had to been dead for that to happen, or ostensibly high on pain.

Sakura sighed, shoulders slumping. Kakashi let his musings wander off to the far back of his mind as he looked up at his student. He could only imagine the cog wheels spin behind her frontal lobe.

"Have you seen Chōji by the way?" she suddenly asked and studied the area around them – apparently looking for her friend.

Kakashi tilted his head to the side. "I've seen Chōji, yes. He and his father are alright." They'd been there when he woke up.

Sakura nodded. "Good..." she vaguely answered and seemed relieved.

Kakashi bat an eyelid. "Why are you asking?" he asked.

The pinkette smiled a little. "Because that means all of the Konoha Eleven are alright, except Naruto that is," she replied. "Hinata is stable after the hit she took when fighting Pein, but she will be okay. Neji, Lee and Tenten are with her."

Kakashi blinked as he processed what she'd said. It had nothing to do with the situation – i.e. whether or not her friends from the academy were alive or not – but he guessed the she wanted to be able and see something from the bright side. This was their first big battle after all, and in the middle of their home village on top of all.

Kakashi knew that even though his team had faced many obstacles in their short lives, they had always had a home to return to. This time it had been different. Usually one would always know there was a home to return to, where family and beloved ones were waiting with food and a warm bed. Though this time around, mentioned 'home' was in a demoralising state to say the least.

He looked up at her face and noticed her strained smile. Wishing he hadn't told her about Naruto after all, he walked up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. As she looked up at him, he smiled from beneath his mask.

"He'll be alright. He's Naruto after all. There's a reason I call him an unpredictable knucklehead," he told her and squeezed his hand as he noticed the lustre in her eyes.

He knew all too well that losing one's comrade was a devastating blow to the mind, and he had promised himself a long time ago that he would not let his students feel that pain he had felt too early in their lives.

Sakura smiled back at him before rapidly blinking a couple of times. She let her eyes focus on the ground as her sensei remained where he was.

"He better be, otherwise I'll have to Edo-tensei his arse before sending him back to death myself," she perfunctorily joked.

Kakashi gave her a strained chuckle in return, ignoring the way his hand was shaking on her shoulder.

* * *

><p>Naruto blinked a couple of times before he felt the weirdest feeling ever. Apparently he'd <em>kind of<em> been unconscious while standing and now his knees buckled due to his body becoming lax. He fell to his knees with a large thud and a sharp pain made its way through his thighs.

His lips twitched at the feeling as he fell forwards, catching his body with his hands.

_Fuck,_ Naruto thought as he tried to open his eyes but found it to be useless. It felt like someone had tried to glue together his eyelids.

_Damn, it's cold, _was his second thought as he felt a shiver run down his bare skin.

He had landed on something hard, now lying with his hands next to his face in a protective manner. If one didn't know better, he appeared to be taking a nap due to exhaustion. On the other hand, it was a rather accurate assumption, as he was oddly exhausted at the moment.

Naruto scrunched his nose as he finally managed to open his eyes. Everything was blurry and it stung his eyeballs as he did so. Closing his eyes again he raised his hands to rub the mucus away, a frown making itself home on his forehead.

He had one hell of a headache and for some reason his coordination felt off. When rubbing his eyes he wanted to make small wrists movements, but he soon realised he was barely moving his hands at all. Making greater movements he soon had removed all the sand from his eyes.

He looked straight ahead and could see a lot of greens and browns; plants and leaves, twigs and branches. There were also some yellow and taupe.

He concluded he was outside in the wilderness.

Letting a hand rake through his hair and making a face as it got stuck in a knot, he realised he was not wearing a shirt. At least that would explain the cold.

He sighed and decided it was time to see more of the world.

Bracing himself against the ground, he gathered some strength to roll himself onto his back. However, using more force than needed he made a three-sixty.

"Oof!"

He landed on his stomach once more as his small trip was over, hands beneath his ribcage and face turned to the left. The grassland became a lot colder than before and he shivered; that hurt.

Straining his neck to see his surroundings, he could at least tell he was lying right by a big brown blob – a tree. He winced as his neck started to cramp, resulting in his body trembling as a domino effect.

Naruto resorted to using profanities not even stated in the dictionary.

Blinking a couple of more times, he let his body rest. For some reason he felt exhausted and had what reminded him of growing pains in his limbs.

He swallowed and just let himself be for a while. Feeling a draught he comprehended he had no clothes on _whatsoever_ and rather than becoming embarrassed, it made him wonder why.

He was outside, completely stark naked with wicked horrible synchronisation in his body. What was up?

It took him a couple of seconds but soon he remembered what had happened earlier. He wanted to slap himself three times and call himself a fool.

How the _hell_ did he come in contact with a _kami_?

Rolling his eyes – and feeling the strain in his abused eye muscles – he started to look around and take in his surrounding more properly. He was lying on moss he concluded, with leaves and needles on the ground.

Coniferous trees? One couldn't find those around Konoha, as it was a village surrounded by leaves – hence the name 'village hidden in the leaves'.

He blinked as he saw – what he assumed to be – an ant pass by, dragging its straw to the stack.

Waiting – just waiting – the blond couldn't do anything but stare at what was ahead of him.

He started to wonder whether or not the yellow in front of him was dandelions, buttercups or some other wildflower.

It took quite a while for his vision to return, but his mind being as sluggish as it was it didn't matter to him much.

He narrowed his eyes as he took in the – what he had presumed to be – flowers, and detected that it wasn't flowers after all. There were too much of it clotted together. Perhaps it was grass, withering grass.

That's when it hit him.

_A person. With blond hair , _he thought.

With wide eyes taking in the human form before him he soon noted that it was a male. He was asleep it seemed, or unconscious, and facing up. A very soft breeze made sure a couple of the yellow strands making up his blond hair moved.

Blue eyes moved as he took in the rest of the man.

He was sprawled out on his back; legs apart, arms in a vertical angle from his body. Standard ninja clothes decorated his frame: a pair of trousers, sandals and a long sleeved turtle neck ornamented with the red Konoha swirl on his upper arms. He wore no flak jacket, nor a headband or kunai holster. He had weird white bands on his sleeves though; a touch of personalisation perhaps.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, wondering who this male might be.

He'd never seen one like him before and he was almost certain he would remember hair in that shocking colour. He only knew of a handful that had blonde hair in Konohagakure – himself and Ino included.

He knew it was arbitrary to believe this person to be whom he reminded the young blond of, but Naruto couldn't help but see resemblances to their former Hokage – the Yondaime. Because really, where was the famous cloak then?

_It could be an intruder,_ Naruto mentally guessed and swallowed some of the saliva that had gathered in his mouth. Said mouth felt oddly dry though and his throat protested against the action.

"Oi—" he inhaled sharply as his voice was only in a whisper. It was light and more high-pitched than normal.

He guessed he'd taken quite the hit before falling comatose.

"Oi," he said again.

The man scrunched his nose as a frown appeared between golden brows. He then turned his head to the right – and away from Naruto. The younger blond made a face of dissatisfaction.

"Oi, old man..." his voice was still in a whisper, but Naruto now knew there was something odd going on. He felt extremely different when using his vocal chords, and his throat felt tighter somehow. "Wakey, wakey..." he continued nonetheless.

The Yondaime look-alike's frown deepened and Naruto caught a glimpse of cerulean eyes flashing from behind golden lashes.

He turned his head towards Naruto before opening his eyes a bit more, taking in his surroundings. He appeared to be highly disoriented.

He felt extremely nervous as the man continued to study his surroundings; much like Naruto had done before.

Naruto could feel his own pulse start to escalate by his jugular.

Tensing his muscles as the man grunted in addition to moving one of his arms, Naruto made sure to not even blink as he kept his eyes focused on the man's hands. He might attack.

They made eye contact.

The blond man's eyes were dazed but he seemed to study the boy nonetheless; Naruto's own eyes widened in anticipation.

Nearly a minute passed before the man turned his gaze away and let it wander down Naruto's form. He then closed them and appeared to be deep in thought.

Naruto scowled as he studied the man more intensely, letting his gaze wander in a copying manner of the man's.

"It's impolite to stare."

If Naruto had been standing his knees would have buckled.

"You started it," he swiftly retorted out of reflex, but quickly shut his mouth as he heard his voice.

Gulping, he let a hand wander to his throat – as if in a gesture of wanting to fix it. He was able to determine that something was rather off with his physique and that whatever had happened to him, he had only taken a physical hit, not a mental one.

The man snorted and a small smile played on his lips. Naruto noted that he was flexing his fingers and feet; turning his head back and forth and taking larger inhales than normally.

The young blond frowned. It appeared as if the man was checking his physique as well.

"I guess I stand corrected," the man suddenly said and Naruto realised they were still talking to one another.

Inhaling slowly, Naruto debated on whether or not he should have a conversation with the other male at all. He still didn't know whether or not it was an imposter before him or if he was a fellow ninja, the two of them merely ending up in the same misfortune.

"Who are you?" he dared to ask after a pregnant silence.

The man blinked and turned his head towards the other blond.

He had started to move his arms and legs, but had abruptly stopped when Naruto asked the question.

It appeared the man was thinking what to answer and for a moment Naruto could see a flicker of doubt in the man's movements. He was either about to lie or speak in metaphors; he seemed intelligent enough to be doing that.

"I'm not a threat, I can assure you that." That was the only answer he got before the man curtly sat up.

Naruto had to admit that – for appearing to be a man acting as if expecting injury – he moved with nimble grace and perfected movements that had most likely taken years to get down.

Naruto scowled. "Are you now? How can you prove it?" he asked and cleared his throat.

This voice was starting to annoy him rather than just bother him. Why was Kyūbi messing with him? Or was it Amaterasu's fault?

The man turned his head to the side and let his blue eyes connect with Naruto's. The younger of the two felt a weird sense of déjà vu fall over the small clearing they were in. He had a nagging feeling at the back of head that he personally knew this man, or at least he had seen him before. And it wasn't just about his looks, but his presence.

"To be honest, I don't think there is a way for me to prove myself."

Naruto was most certain that this man had had his fair share of 'awkward conversations' in his lifetime; at least judging by how he seemed to handle this situation.

Naruto then snorted. "You could at least give me your name," he said and moved his legs for the first time since rolling over, flexing his muscles to see if he had obtained injury.

"You don't know?" he asked and seemed to regret it as Naruto noticed a flash of reservation on his facial features.

"Should I?" Naruto retorted, the suspicion still obvious in his tone of voice.

"I guess not," was the answer. "My name's Minato."

Naruto blinked. He had only met the Yondaime very briefly in his mindscape that one time with Kyubi nearly breaking free. They had not exchanged names back then, but according to the history books, that was the Yondaime's first name: Minato Name-and-something.

"Er... right, can't say the name ring any bells," he countered with a new frown on his face.

He couldn't be too sure about the situation right now. No matter the fact that he'd just met up with what he thought was a kami.

The man – Minato, Naruto reminded himself – merely smiled again.

Breaking his eye contact with Naruto he stood up but brusquely leant against the nearest tree trunk. A dizzy spell had seemed to hit him, but had Naruto not known that the man had just been down for the count he would honestly have not noticed; he'd masked it well.

Naruto frowned. "Alright there, Old man?" he asked and turned his head as if wanting to see Minato's face – which was turned away from him at the moment.

Minato raised his head as he turned towards the youngster, his lips forming an amused smirk.

"I'm not that old, laddie," he retorted, and Naruto snorted.

It sounded weird to hear the otherwise too formal speech pattern take a turn for weird nicknames.

"And I'm not a 'laddie'," the blond decided to say.

Minato arched a brow as he looked at the other's body. "You sure?" he asked. "You may be very intelligent for your age, but you are a child."

Naruto bristled. "I'm not a kid!" he yelled and tried to ignore the shiver his own voice sent down his body. He definitely sounded like a kid, but he wasn't going to admit that to the other blond, it could be the same as going against what he'd just said.

"I'm _sixteen_, I'm more of an adult than a child," he added in a calmer voice.

The man blinked. "Past tense," Minato added under his breath.

Naruto appeared to have heard it as he frowned and a low growl made itself known in the back of his throat.

"What do you mean 'past tense'; I should know my own age, shouldn't I?" Naruto queried with a sigh.

Minato sighed as well, but there were still a small lingering of amusement in his face. "You should learn to expect the unexpected when striking deals with a kami," the older blond uttered and tilted his head back, so that he could take a look at the sky.

Naruto tensed. Say what again?

"How did you know about that?" he asked without thinking.

Minato studied whatever it was he could see through the tree tops. "As mentioned, you struck a deal with a kami, and what was it that deal involved?" he asked.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "You don't know shit about—"

Minato turned his head back to the blond, whom immediately shut up upon meeting the other blond's gaze. It wasn't stern, nor was it intimidating in any way, but he felt it was better to not cross this man's path using vulgarities.

"You asked for the Shinigami's disinclined contribution to this deal – which apparently was grated – and that was for him to give away one of the internees in his stomach..." Minato trailed off and made a small gesture with left hand, as if presenting something invisible in front of him.

Naruto didn't have to think too deeply, before realisation struck him like a lightning bolt. Minato seemed to also have come to the conclusion that Naruto now knew what they were dealing with.

"Exactly," Minato said and finally let his hand fall from the tree trunk. "All I have to say is you are a _fool_ for doing what you did. You could have lost so much more than your life."

For the first time since they had started this conversation Naruto could hear an emotion beside unpretentiousness seep into the man's voice.

"Y-You're actually _him_?" he squealed like a schoolgirl. "Holy shit—" Minato gave him a look, "—er... you're the Yellow Flash... oh fu… er… fun! Shit, no sorry— I mean, damn. No!" he rambled on for a few seconds and didn't really know what else to say or how to react.

Minato however, didn't answer his question but continued to look at him with that weird look. "Why you would summon upon a supernatural deity is not a matter I understand, however, the fact that you managed to get out of it without having to relinquish much is what surprises me."

Naruto blinked as it took him a while to realise he was actually being scolded – in a weird way.

"You are surprisingly unpredictable, I must say," Minato muttered under his breath once more.

The younger of the two licked his lips. "I'm just good like that?" he said, and it came out as a question as he was unsure as to what he should answer. "My sensei calls me an unpredictable knucklehead, so I guess I can't help it."

Minato looked at him pointedly, and then neither of the two said anything for a while.

Minato decided to break the silence after a while. "You were wondering why I said 'past tense', didn't you?" he questioned.

"Oh yeah! That's right," Naruto chirped. They'd got side-tracked rather easily.

"Take a look at your body," Minato then said.

It took a while for Naruto to react to that sentence. Why should he look at his body?

Blinking a couple of times as his eyes contracted, Minato merely studied the boy until said lad finally lifted a hand to his face and let blue eyes rest upon slender fingers.

…or what used to be slender fingers.

Naruto's eyes widened as he took in the small hand in front of his face. It was skinny; too skinny to be a toddler's, but at the same time much too small to be a pre-teens.

"Wha—" The words got stuck in his throat as he tried to comprehend what the heck it was that he was seeing.

Letting the hand he'd just studied fall against his face he felt soft – unlike the calloused ones he was used to – fingers run across round cheeks, a wide mouth and small nose. His breathing started to quicken as he hurriedly pushed his four limbs against the ground to move himself onto his back.

The air left his lungs as he used too much energy yet again, resulting in a much harder impact than necessary.

He started to cough.

As he closed his eyes for a brief second, he let his obviously much smaller hands move up to his neck. They roamed the area before moving over to his shoulders and then up to his head. Grabbing his hair he felt it was much softer and a bit longer than what he was used to.

He opened his eyes as he felt a cloth move across his body. Blue eyes met blue and Naruto's ninja instincts told him to move away from Minato who was now kneeling on the grass beside him.

How the hell had he moved so fast without Naruto noticing?

Though it appeared he had removed his Jōnin shirt to cover Naruto's body and was now only wearing a crème coloured tank top.

"I don't—"

Minato placed a finger against his own lips.

"Amaterasu is an authoritative deity," the older blond started as he let Naruto study his hands once more. "Indubitably she wasn't going to let you get away with your own selfish wish fulfilled and leave her with no compensation whatsoever."

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat as he was finally starting to realise that this was actually happening.

"This matter can be discussed more deeply later on, what matters now is to get you back to your village. You need proper medical care and I have to admit," Minato sheepishly smiled, "I've got no skills to speak of whatsoever in that area."

Naruto merely looked at the man as he spoke, his whole being tensing up as he was suddenly lifted from the ground and placed on a nearby elevation in the bog. He could feel the warmth from Minato's hands and shivered.

The warmth reminded him of that fact that this was actually a dead man walking once more. His father nonetheless...

He blinked a couple of times. This had to be a genjutsu of some sort.

But that was what he'd thought with Amaterasu as well, but what if she hadn't been real after all? That he had just an overactive imagination on the loose?

He barely noticed as Minato put on the shirt he'd removed and made sure it covered Naruto's body properly. He even folded the sleeves a couple of times so that Naruto could properly use his hands. He did, however, take notice to the situation he was in when the man laid an arm around his back to support him as he was lifted into a warm embrace. It appeared this man cared about him enough to not let him die in a forest, but he was not treating him like an equal either, more like a subordinate.

He held no grudge against the contact but at the same time he also despised it, knowing that this could not be real. Someone had to be messing with his mind to make his hero, his _father_, appear like this and talk to him and... _help_ him of all things.

This whole situation was awkward and he felt extremely confused as to whether he should feel grateful or affronted.

Minato had noticed the way Naruto had reacted. Narrowing his eyes as he made eye contact with the youngster he felt a bit guilty as he made sure to put the boy in a sleep induced genjutsu.

"It's okay to rest," he told Naruto, noticing the effect of the genjutsu almost immediately. He also noticed that the boy did not resist whatsoever, as if not knowing it was a genjutsu. "Just sleep."

The boy was soon asleep and Minato looked up at the sky above him, watching the low sun and the stars that had started to appear.

Taking a big breath he knew there were a lot of alternatives for him, but he couldn't help but feel that he should do what was best for the boy in his arms. Naruto needed his village right now, he did not need to roam new land in flight merely because of what Minato knew what was awaiting him upon entering the gates of Konohagakure.

He exhaled and resisted to urge to touch a certain area of his chest. It had felt like a mere moment ago when his life had ended in the same village they were now heading. Though his time with the Shinigami was something he also remembered. His conception of time was extremely off.

Minato shook his head.

This was not the time for him to doubt himself. Blue eyes focused upon the path ahead of him and he started to walk.

* * *

><p>It had taken Naruto awhile, but once he'd realised he'd been placed under a genjutsu he'd gathered upon Kyūbi's chakra in sheer frustration and then broken out of it.<p>

It had resulted in the excess chakra – not needed to break the genjutsu – to burn Minato's arms and create a heat that had both of them feeling an uncomfortable tackiness in their lungs.

Naruto had merely stared at Minato after that, not helping him as the man silently studied his newly acquired burns with a weird expression on his face. As neither of them had done or said anything concerning the awkward situation, Naruto had simply got up on his feet and started walking with a drunken stagger.

It felt too awkward to talk to the man.

He felt odd with his body being shorter than before, and his arms were just getting in the way. He was used to taking longer strides and swinging his arms with much more force. It made his current walk appear over-exaggerated, and from time to time he would stumble over an invisible rock.

Because of this he walked into a handful different trees and what he swore was poison ivy. His coordination was off and his senses felt strangely alien as they were only mucking up his physical condition. Looking at it from the bright side of life was glad that he at least hadn't become an infant, guessing he was somewhere in between three and six instead.

After managing to walk on his own for over three minutes without knocking into something, Minato finally seemed to stop staring at him with that calculating look.

Naruto wasn't sure if it was because of worry or because of Minato analysing him.

The young blond had a hard time thinking about the other male as his father, and preferred to refer to him as either the Yondaime, his hero or plain Minato. Was Minato his real name for that matter? History books could be deceiving.

It had only been hours since he'd actually got to know about the man after all. When he thought about it, he couldn't be too sure if the talk and re-sealing of Kyūbi was something of Amaterasu's as well, or if it had actually happened. How could he know the meeting he'd had with her was the beginning of it? Maybe he'd lived the past year according to her, and not according to what his true life would have been like.

He felt so extremely confused at the moment.

It wasn't helping that Kyūbi had started to make himself known by making constant remarks concerning dear dandy daddy being alive.

Naruto glanced at the blond man next to him. His arms bore burn marks that made the younger of the two feel an odd sense of satisfaction in his stomach. He knew this man was his father and he knew that he resented him at the same time as he wanted to hug him until he could hear ribs crack. He loved him in a weird way, but felt like there was too much gall between the two to be able and show it properly.

He had no reason to show that he knew about their relation. It seemed Minato didn't know at all – or he hid it extremely well for reasons unknown – so why should he tell?

Naruto snorted at the thought.

How could one not know when they saw their own kid?

_**You saw him as a village leader **_**before **_**you saw him as your own father, need I remind you; referring to him as the Yondaime Hokage, not as 'Father' or 'Dad'. You are rather hypocritical,**_Kyūbi decided to comment from behind closed bars, a poisonous tone in his old voice.

Naruto ignored the demon in his mind. Not really daring to question him after what had just happened in Konoha. But it appeared karma was a bitch as he nearly stumbled into a nearby branch on the ground again.

He knew the fox had a point though. He'd seen the man as the Yondaime at first, not really seeing the man as his biological father.

He felt the corner of his mouth turn upwards. He could deny the fact that he felt a bit happy about seeing him again, thought it hurt that the man was rather... absent. He seemed cold and distant, rather than warm and caring as he'd been in Naruto's mind. It made him wonder all the more.

He wondered whether or not Minato had any recollection of that time. If he knew what that part of him had done to help Naruto, and what they had discussed.

He shook his head and focused on the leaves underneath his bare feet. This was not the time to think like that. He had to get home so that Tsunade and Sakura could help him get his true body back – if possible.

* * *

><p>They'd been walking for some time now and Naruto had to admit that his feet were becoming irritated from the constant abuse. And after falling to the ground around seven times now, his ego had acquired quite the bruises.<p>

He tried to get over the nagging feeling in the back of his mind, and the awkward feeling of solace that spread as Minato had managed to soften his fall five of the times as well as helped him up from the forest floor the other two.

"Suck it up," he whispered to himself with a snort.

He made a double blink before taking a look at the other man from his peripheral vision. He was walking with such stealth it had Naruto wondering if the man had been a ninja from birth. He also took notice of the fact that Minato's left arm – which had taken more damage during his chakra explosion – was slightly shaking. And why was he shaking his head from time to time?

Sighing again, he clenched his jaws together. He had no idea how to act in this situation. Was he to be happy that he had a father – who seemed to not know about Naruto being his son concerning how he had treated him up until now – or was he to resent the man for being the one to make his life hell as well as acting so… nonchalant?

He tripped over a rock and swung his arms around him, trying to catch his balance. He landed with a thud, though he felt Minato's fingers scrape his left biceps. It seemed that former Hokage was a bit out of practise.

Squinting as he focused upon the road ahead of them he let a string of colourful words leaving his mouth.

He knew Minato was staring at him with a look of dislike as he felt the man grab him by his arms to help him up yet again.

_Kyūbi? _he queried.

A growl could be heard from where he knew the fox was located, and he couldn't help but place a hand on his stomach as he started to walk again, not thanking or looking at the other man by his side.

_**What now?**_the fox finally replied.

Naruto swallowed before knowing how to phrase his question. _Do you ever feel angry with the Yondaime for what he did to you?_

Silence followed and Naruto wondered if it was too early to be talking to be beast; regarding the eight tails incident and all.

_Kyūbi?_ he queried again; his voice rather small.

_**Sometimes,**_Kyūbi candidly answered and Naruto swore he could hear a tired sigh leave the demon. He was just about to ask why, when the fox continued. _**Though the past is the past, and it shall be left that way. And I feel that I would rather stay imprisoned within a Jinchūriki than be under the control of a zealot.**_

Naruto scrunched up his face in wonder, as he contemplated the words the fox had said. What zealot?

_But would you say you are happy that he is alive again? _the blonde continued. He felt the fox move behind the bars, stroking his fur against the metal poles.

A small laughter was heard. _**Are you saying that you do not know whether or not to be happy your biological father is alive? **_Naruto could feel the demon arch a brow at him. _**I thought you humans prided family.**_

_We do!_ Naruto was quick to retort. _It's... I... I just want to punch him the face so badly._

The fox snickered from within his prison and the young blond felt confused as to why. There had been nothing funny with that.

_**You are unsure as to whether or not you should hate or love him, I assume? As I said, you humans pride family, and I am no human, hence I cannot help you with this matter. You shall have to solve this wi— **_Naruto opened his mouth to retort once more _**—let me finish! With **_**no **_**help from me, **_he said and the blond shut his mouth.

The fox was just about to block their mental connection when Naruto asked another question.

_Fine then. But answer this; why did you give me so much chakra that I ended up burning him?_

The fox snorted.

_**It is hard to learn an old dog to sit, as I believe you humans say.**_

_You can't teach an old dog new tricks, _Naruto corrected.

_**Same difference... **_Naruto smirked a little, Kyūbi had learnt some human aphorisms after all,_** Nonetheless, I may find it acceptable that this man is alive, but that does not mean I enjoy his presence. If I can hurt him, I shall do it, and thoroughly so if I may. **_

It was the boy's turn to chuckle as he heard this, and he missed the suspicious look Minato gave him.

He had to say that he felt a bit more... normal, per say, after having a conversation with the Bijū. He had never been fond of change so he was glad that things between him and Kyūbi hadn't taken a turn for the worst after what had just happened. He liked it when his life held a certain rhythm.

"I believe we should rest for the night." Naruto's thoughts were interrupted as he turned his head to look at the man.

He then all of a sudden stepped down a hole in the ground.

It wasn't very deep, but it was enough to make his face meet the ground with a surprised expression.

Minato blinked.

Naruto had seen the hole. He had prepared himself to take a step over it, but it appear that instead of it requiring a_ normal_ step in his _normal_ body, he should have skipped over it in an _abnormal_ way for this _abnormal_ body.

He did not miss the supervising glance Minato send him as he walked over to once more help the blond up.

"Don't," the youngster said as the man was just about to grab him under his arms.

Minato stopped moving as he looked at the boy, he then retreated and let the boy get himself back up on his feet.

Naruto felt heat radiate from his cheeks.

Fucking kami, making him a fucking kid and fucking humiliating him in front of the fucking Yondaime Hokage...

He did have a point though, Naruto mused from among the curses, referring to the man saying that they should rest.

He looked up and noticed that the sun had nearly fully set and their visibility of the landscape had drastically decreased along with the darkness' fall.

"Yeah, resting sounds good," the young blond awkwardly answered and started to look for a place where they could encamp.

His body was aching from trying to keep his balance all the time and he'd yet again hurt one of his knees when falling.

He wanted to hit something to let out his frustration, but refrained from doing so. Minato already saw him as a child – even though the man knew that he was truly at the age of sixteen – and he did not see him throwing a temper tantrum to enhance that.

Minato joined him in looking and as soon as they had found a very small clearing with a large rock they could lay their backs against. Neither of them thought about food, being too tired, so it didn't take long for them to get comfortable for the night.

Naruto blinked a little as he looked at the mop of yellow hair, which was all that he could see of the man's head. He took notice to the fact that Minato was looking at the burns on his left arm and it make Naruto's lips tighten. He could feel ad odd mix of guilt and satisfaction, and couldn't be too sure any more if the satisfaction was from Kyūbi or himself; not after the conversation he'd had with the demon.

A couple of minutes passed as Naruto continued to watch the man. He could easily see that he was nodding off from time to time, but for some reason he was trying to stay awake.

Willing away a new feeling of guilt, he soon let sleep take him away; having no idea what the upcoming days would bring.

* * *

><p>Having woken up by dawn the two blonds were on the move once more. This time Naruto was walking in front of Minato, making sure he wouldn't have to see the man. The guilt he'd felt just before falling asleep last night was still present and it currently felt like it was digging an ever deeper hole in his stomach. The worst part was that he couldn't understand why he felt so guilty. Was it only because he'd hurt the man who supposedly was his father? Or was there more to it? Like Naruto not truly acknowledging him as his father?<p>

_But it's not like he's acknowledged me as his son either,_ he argued with himself.

He could hear that the fox was just about to say something, but he made sure to interrupt it.

"Should we go by tree?" he asked Minato and felt the awkwardness settle as a lid on a pot as intensely blue eyes met his own.

He immediately wanted to smack himself as he saw that Minato's arm was just as red as the day before. He needed medical care. Chakra burns were no easy thing to handle on the field.

Nevertheless, Minato seemed to think about it for a while. He took a look at Naruto's body, as if looking for something. Naruto frowned as slight confusion seemed to hit the man, before he shook his head and answered: "That sounds good."

_What's up with that look? _Naruto questioned himself. _He better not see me as a bloody charity case or something. He's the one in need of medical care. _

Not wanting to see his current 'drunken stagger' as a condition that needed 'medical care', Naruto puffed his cheeks. Turning his head so that he could see the man from his peripheral vision, he noticed that Minato wasn't paying much attention to what was in front of him, instead he seemed to have drifted off into space.

The younger sighed and jumped up into the trees. He noticed at once that his balance was way more off up there and that his muscles protested against the action. He gritted his teeth as a branch grazed his head.

Minato jumped up after him and kept his distance behind the boy.

With no further words being exchanged the two started to move towards Konoha at a faster pace than before.

* * *

><p>Inoichi Yamanaka came at a sudden standstill. He turned to his comrade Shikaku Nara as the raven landed by his right side.<p>

"Do you think we should turn back?" Inoichi asked.

Shikaku sighed as he let his eyes narrow. Taking in their surroundings the scarred man held his breath for a while.

"Even after a disaster with a higher causality rate than survival rate, there might still be survivors out there. Let's keep on looking."

Inoichi frowned. "Can you be that sure? We're not even sure if—"

"It is the Hokage's orders to search for survivors while at a standstill in this," Shikaku countered.

Inoichi faltered. "There haven't been many allied survivors this close to Konoha for kami knows how long. How do you even know that if there truly are people out there, that they're even alive, or on our side for that matter," he asked with arch brows. Shikaku turned his head towards him. The blond rolled his eyes. "Right, right... orders are orders and all, but still..."

Shikaku didn't answered and instead took off once more. Inoichi was just about to follow when something he wasn't certain how to interpret happened.

"_Kage Mane no Jutsu!"_

With wide eyes, he watched as Shikaku activated his shadow techniques to stop two people who were jumping up in the trees just before them.

Inoichi reacted instinctively as he prepared to use a mind technique if necessary.

"What the hell?!" one of their opponents suddenly exclaimed and Inoichi scowled as he took in the body of a mere child. He was thin as rails and appeared to be wearing a Konoha Jōnin's shirt.

He was dirty and his knees were scraped. Imagining the worst, it wouldn't surprise Inoichi if the kid had taken the shirt off a Konoha shinobi's corpse to keep warm. Question was where the kid came from. Was he from Konoha, or was he from a nearby village?

With a critical eye, Shikaku could determine that the boy in front of him had got himself into a capricious situation. He would have liked to ask how come the boy was wearing a Jōnin's shirt, but decided to let it slide for the moment. Right now, he wanted to put more focus on the unidentified man currently hiding up in the tree crowns.

"Show yourself," he said and ignored the kid who seemed to become even more frustrated.

"Hey! Don't ignore my question! I asked you; What – the –_ hell_?!"

Inoichi blinked as confusion swept over him. The kid sure had a healthy set of lungs for appearing so frail. Preparing for a mind switching technique, he sharpened his senses.

"Please show yourself or we will resort to using force," Shikaku then stated, and Inoichi let his focus switch from the kid to the other presence up in the trees.

"If you threaten the guy, of course he won't come out..." the kid muttered under his breath and Inoichi let his brows arch.

He wasn't a hundred per cent sure if this was a Konoha ninja, but he knew for certain that the boy's dialect was one of Konoha's.

Nothing happened for a while, but Shikaku swore he heard an exhale before some rustling was heard and a shadow showed itself by jumping down a few branches. The person landed next to the kid, who appeared to be frustrated rather than scared by the whole situation.

Minato showed his face to Shikaku and Inoichi as the two men stopped breathing for a slight second.

"The dead are walking!" the kid dramatically said from his frozen position, resulting in three pair of eyes watching him. "I'll let you in on a secret," he pouted at the raven, "my legs are cramping. You think you could release the jutsu?"

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. What the... who was this kid to talk to him like that? But then, who was this other person daring to impersonate an MIA and extremely well-known Konoha shinobi?

Inoichi had a similar thought-pattern. "I hope you are aware of the fact that impersonating a high level ninja of Konoha – retired, deceased or current – is a serious offense," Inoichi prompted.

"I am aware of that, yes," Minato calmly answered.

Shikaku studied the man as he felt his pulse start to race in his chest. For him – whom had known the man previously in his life – this was a situation where one might say 'ghost'. The way the man held himself, how he had uttered that once sentence, how he was currently looking at the Nara clan member, it was all too familiar for comfort.

"I don't know who you are or why you are impersonating our comrade, but I'm afraid you will have to come with us to Konohagakure for questioning," Inoichi added.

The blue of the man's eyes went from Shikaku to Inoichi. Goosebumps made their way across the Yamanaka's skin.

"Hey! Don't be so grim!" a childish voice interrupted them, but no one looked over to the young kid this time. "Oh come on! Don't ignore me!" the youngster continued. "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a goddamned _duck_!"

"Quiet," Inoichi snapped in a demanding manner, "you are in just as much trouble. Until we can confirm where you're from, you will be dealt with as an accomplice of this imposter, no matter your age," he added the last part when Minato opened his mouth to say something.

"_What the hell?!_"

"Kindly don't talk to him like that," Minato countered.

His voice was very soft but it had a harmful edge to it; an edge Shikaku, above all, remembered all too well when fighting next to Minato during the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War.

He clenched his teeth together as he felt anger swell up at the man daring to make fun of a fallen comrade and hero.

"I'm going to ask you something and I want an honest answer," Shikaku said as blue eyes once again met his own dark ones; "who are you?"

Minato blinked. "Namikaze Minato."

None of the three men noticed but Naruto perked up at this. So maybe he hadn't lied when saying his name was Minato, and 'Namikaze'? Was that his father's last name. He wondered if his mother's name was Namikaze as well. That hologram of Minato who'd helped him with Kyūbi had never mentioned her name, nor had anyone else ever done for that matter. He guessed Uzumaki was his mother's last name then.

Shikaku grunted. "Namikaze Minato has been declared MIA and will continuously be so until the opposite has been proven."

"Well, here I am," Minato answered as Naruto noticed the two men becoming confused. He wondered if he should say something, or at least support what Minato was presenting.

A small drop of sweat made its way down Inoichi's temple.

"Don't lie," he said. "You cannot fault us for being wary of a man who's been declared dead since years to just come back unharmed to his home village."

"I support that statement, but there are times when alterations of the impulsive kind tend to happen for inconceivable reasons," Minato answered and for the first time, let his eyes wander over to Naruto and stay there.

Inoichi straightened his posture. "What is inconceivable here is for Konoha's Yellow Flash to be standing in front of us – _alive_. So don't give us untruthful answers," he said.

Minato looked back at him, and with an arched brow he answered, "The unpredictable things in life are known as just that because you can't predict them. But when does prediction have anything to do with what's actually conceivable?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he let his cheeks puff. He hadn't got anything of that, but other than not understanding anything of what the man had just said, he was a bit impressed at how Minato was handling the situation. Big words tended to distract people. Naruto knew this first hand.

He could also understand why Shikaku and Inoichi were acting the way they were. He assumed they had known this man when he'd been alive, so this was a situation where they were more of less questioning their grip on reality. For Naruto it was more or less a stone face on a monument becoming animated. He'd seen the man's photo in the Sandaime's office and he'd seen him in his mindscape, but that was it.

The young blond felt his legs seriously start to cramp and looked over at Shikaku who seemed to be thinking hard about something.

"Oi, Shikaku-san. Couldn't you please release me? It feels as if ants are trying to eat up my legs," he whined, because truly, his legs were killing him and it was rather annoying to try and focus on the situation at hand when all he could think about were mentioned 'ants'.

The raven man looked over at the kid with eyes Naruto had no idea how to read.

They locked gazes until the young blond wouldn't handle it and turned his head to the side. Shikaku then looked back at Minato. "I ask of you to calmly follow us back to Konohagakure where you will face a questioning," he imposed. "If you are who you claim to be, you would understand why I'm asking this," he added.

Minato sighed, letting his eyes wander over the woods.

Shikaku briefly turned towards Inoichi before turning his attention to Naruto.

"Ey, kid," the blond perked in annoyance at being called a kid, "If you know my name, perhaps you know my comrades name."

Naruto would have tilted his head if he could have. That was a stupid question. "Yamanaka Inoichi," he answered, missing the look Shikaku gave him as he'd made contact with Inoichi while saying so.

"And do you know what jutsu he's known for using?"

"Mind Jutsu, duh," he answered. "Why'd you wanna know?"

"Because Inoichi-san will take a small trip into your mind," Shikaku answered.

Before Naruto could react, Inoichi formed the correct seals and shouted out: _"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"_

Naruto knew he stood no chance and expected to lose control over his body to Inoichi. He did _not_ expect Minato to use his own body as a shield, ending up taking the jutsu himself.

It had all happened under a few seconds.

Standing frozen with his head downcast, Minato – or his body at least – didn't move an inch and his breathing was the only thing that could be heard.

Naruto's eyes were wide with confusion.

They then wandered over to where Shikaku and Inoichi were standing as he heard a thump.

Inoichi has slumped against the tree branch they're landed upon minutes before. Shikaku was the only thing that held him upright and away from falling out of the tree.

Minato suddenly shook his head and looked over at Shikaku. Naruto could at once tell that Inoichi's mind switch had worked accordingly.

"Hot damn if this guy isn't low on chakra, he's barely got any juice left!"

Hearing such informality leave Minato's lips was a bit awkward, but Naruto couldn't say he was used to hearing the man's 'normal' speech pattern either, having known him for less than a day.

"Success," Shikaku breathed out and closed his eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked as he wondered what the hell it was Shikaku was getting at.

The raven opened his eyes. "This only proves that you have a bond. You're close to one another."

As those words left his lips, Naruto felt the constriction around his body leave him, and he slumped forwards on the tree branch; ending up in a similar position to Inoichi. He couldn't move his arms though, and as he looked down, he realised that there were still a shadow binding technique restraining him.

"Whoever you are, you sure have done a number on yourself," Inoichi muttered under his breath, letting a concerned look take its place upon Minato's features.

Naruto didn't look up. He didn't want to meet the face of his father right now. Instead he puffed out his cheeks. "I've already been scolded once, I don't need to hear it again," he mumbled.

Inoichi took on a neutral expression. Even though this small experiment had proven to be a success, it only brought on a lot more questions than before. Who was this kid? How did he know about him and Shikaku?

He looked up at Shikaku. "As I said, he's extremely low on chakra and he must have literally been playing with fire for his arms to burn this much," Naruto blushed in shame, "We'll have to get to Konoha as soon as possible or this body will get knocked out and I'll be of no use."

Shikaku looked at Naruto as he prepared to take Inoichi's body with him.

"As long as you'll be listening to us, there will be no need for us to force you to come along," he said and Naruto felt his blush deepen.

For some reason he felt extremely chagrined, and didn't know whether or not to answer to that, so he decided to remain silent.

Up until Inoichi decided to carry him that was. "What the fu— Put me _down_!"

"You're shaking like a leaf, kid," was the explanation. "And I've been on the receiving end of those shadow techniques to know that if they catch you in a bad position, you're going to have muscle fever for _days_ to come. Also, as you've been caught in the presence of a man who's been MIA for four years, I don't think you can blame us for being causes about letting you roam free."

Naruto stilled_. _Four years?


	3. Grilling Time

**Note****: **I'm a speck of unwashed dirt on a wall, and I sincerely apologise for that. I haven't touched this story in years, but I don't want to give up on it either. So, here's the next chapter! I'm not certain abour this little fic's future, but I'll definitely try my best updating and keeping in touch. Also, those of you who are up to date with the manga and gaiden; what do you think?

Also, I'm glad to see that there are quite a few people out there that are interested in this story. Thank you so much for your support, I don't think you realise how much it means.

* * *

><p><strong>Grilling Time<strong>  
><em>Betaed by Carrie2sky<em>

* * *

><p>Maybe he'd heard wrong, but... four? It didn't even sound remotely anything like sixteen; and what was up with the MIA, and not KIA? Minato had <em>died <em>that fateful night sixteen years ago, no doubt about it. Why would he then be classified as MIA? And... four? What the hell? Four? _Four?_

Feeling utterly confused, Naruto simply followed Inoichi and Shikaku into Konoha.

...at least he thought it was Konoha.

Narrowing his eyes, he looked behind him as they walked through the renowned gates. The road leading away from Konoha looked the same as he'd always remembered it. He swallowed and let his eyes wander. It was Konoha, but yet, not a Konoha he recognised.

The fact that this Konoha was standing instead of being in ruins being one of the major factors.

He felt a lump form in his throat as he watched yet another familiar face approach them. Hatake Kakashi walked over to them with a slight limp to his right leg.

He looked like always, though he seemed skinnier then usual and wasn't wearing a Jōnin vest.

Naruto couldn't help but stare at the man that had been his sensei. He felt his jaw slacken as he stared at the man's face. Two thoughts went through his head.

He realised how much he'd missed him. Arriving from Mt Myōboku and realising that Kakashi's chakra signature had been nowhere to be found, had created a void in his chest. He hadn't known how to react; he hadn't had the _time _to react. Pein had been at his heels from the moment he'd entered the village – or what was left of it at least – and then any thoughts concerning Kakashi had been fuelled into directed anger. Anger he'd then used to fight Pein.

And where the hell was his Sharingan? A pair of identical dark grey eyes was looking Minato over. No scar, no Sharingan, no hitai-ate covering up the injury.

Naruto could only watch as Shikaku started a conversation with the newcomer. Kakashi looked extremely battered and the haunted look that had entered his eyes upon seeing Inoichi in Minato's body was something Naruto did not want to remember.

Licking his dry lips, Naruto studied the two – or three, if you counted the unconscious Inoichi on Shikaku's back – males as they talked in hushed voices. Tilting his head, Naruto realised something else. Kakashi was shorter than Shikaku.

He'd always been taller than the Nara man.

Feeling a sense of dread in his stomach, Naruto couldn't help but hold a hand flat against his lower chest. His heart had started to beat faster than normal.

_What the hell is going? I don't... I can't..._ his thoughts made no sense, even less sense than the situation at hand.

Taking a deep breath, he focused on the ground, not realising Inoichi was watching him with Minato's calculating blue eyes. Said situation was tense as it was without him having a panic attack in the middle of it.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to think of a reason for things being so... different from what he remembered. And where were all the villagers? He knew they were on a backstreet, but they should still be able to hear people going about from the market square that was only a few blocks further into the village.

Opening his eyes again, he realised that perhaps it was for the best. Who knew how the villagers would react if they found out about the resuscitation of a man many remembered as their village hero.

"Who isthis?" Naruto heard Kakashi hiss as he kept his eyes on Minato – or what he most likely thought was an intruder.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he heard a much lighter than usual voice come from behind the Jōnin's facial mask.

"We can't be a hundred per cent sure," was the simple answer Shikaku gave him. "He claims to be Namikaze Minato, but that remains to be seen. We are using every caution in the book to handle the situation."

Naruto let his eyes fall onto Shikaku as he heard this.

He knew Shikaku wasn't sure whether or not this was an intruder, though after the stunt Minato had pulled regarding Naruto's safety – acting as a human shield – the possibilities were endless.

Naruto was just about to ask what the hell Shikaku was getting at; when from the corner of his eyes he caught Minato's blue gaze. It most certainly didn't hold the same intensity as the true Minato, and therefore Naruto merely blinked back. He understood what Inoichi was telling him though.

Closing his mouth, he let his eyes move back to the scene, as he caught the last part of what Shikaku was saying.

"...Inoichi is in control of the body right now. He can't stay this way for long though, so we'll have to move him to an interrogation cell or any other place deemed secure enough."

Naruto reacted instantaneously. "_What?_" he blurted out, and he felt three pair of eyes move towards him. "An interrogation cell? He needs medical attention if anything. Look at him!"

He was met by silence.

As he received no further response, Naruto closed his mouth and felt heat gather in his cheeks.

"A kid...?" Kakashi then asked as he took in the features of the young boy.

It took him a couple of seconds to react as the matching eyes moved over to Naruto.

"And who are you supposed to be?" he asked with a static tone to his voice.

"I could ask you the same," Naruto answered with a scowl on his face. What the hell was up with Kakashi's reaction? Couldn't he see it was him? That he was Naruto? He shouldn't need a Sharingan to see it was his own student standing before him.

His voice was lower than when he'd met up with Inoichi and Shikaku in the surrounding forests. He assumed the adrenaline was finally making its way out of his system.

"Watch it, kid," Kakashi retorted as he glared at the child before him.

Naruto snorted as he rolled his eyes at the reprimand. What was Kakashi playing at?

"What's your name?"

Naruto decided to not answer his sensei's question; instead he shrugged his shoulders and looked down at the ground. Something was wrong with the whole situation; very wrong.

Shikaku and Inoichi watched the two, Shikaku more with caution than Inoichi's apprehension.

Shikaku cleared his throat. "This man and the boy—"

"Would you not do that?" Naruto interrupted and looked back up for a mere moment. He'd been called 'the boy' for the majority of his youth, and he'd come to despise it. "And stop belittling me," he then added under his breath, heat rising in his cheeks as Shikaku and Kakashi both stared at him with uncertain eyes.

Kakashi's left eye twitched as he studied the boy. He could tell that the youngster had more to say, but for some reason he decided to stay quiet.

"You're nothing but a young boy, a _kid_, so there's no reason for us to not address you as one," Kakashi answered after an awkward silence, knowingly structuring the sentence so that a normal child would have a hard time understanding it.

When the kid snorted and sent him a glare, Kakashi couldn't help but arch a brow; it seemed like he was more profound than he thought.

Naruto made a face and was about to cross swords when Shikaku interrupted the two. "Kakashi, would you mind hearing me out before jumping to conclusions?"

Reluctantly, Kakashi let his attention divert from Naruto as Shikaku started to brief him on what had happened in the forests and how they had caught the two blonds. He had to admit that it intrigued him to hear that the imposter had jumped in front of the kid, shielding him from the incoming attack. It was such a typical thing for a shinobi to do (even though not supposed to) when facing enemies. You cared about your teammates, the citizens of your village, the innocent not involved and your family.

It seemed like the two held a connection, and Kakashi was starting to fear what that connection might be.

With a grim face he walked over to Inoichi in Minato's body, Naruto still perched on the man's back.

The younger blond tensed his body, preparing for any kind of defensive move he might need to use against Kakashi. He wasn't sure if he could wholly trust his sensei at the moment.

With no words being exchanged between the two, Kakashi made sure the kid got back on the ground. He then let his gaze fall on the body mirroring his previous sensei and comrade.

"There is an enclosed area up ahead where he may stay," Kakashi apprised as he pointed in the direction of where Naruto knew they usually put up field facilities in case of extra need in the village. "We can bring him there."

Shikaku nodded, agreeing.

Inoichi sighed, but approved nonetheless and started to move Minato's body in the indicated direction. Naruto tilted his head and was just about to follow when Kakashi placed his leg in front of the blond's path.

"You will stay with Nara-san over here," he simply said and Naruto frowned in confusion as he looked up into the onyx eyes. Why were they separating them? They only separated those deemed a danger to the village when together.

Inoichi – who had stopped – turned his head to the young Jōnin, having watched the exchange.

"Bring my body with you, will you?" he enquired and arched a brow at Kakashi as he started to walk again.

It was Kakashi's turn to sigh, but he complied nonetheless. They moved Inoichi's body from Shikaku's back to Kakashi's, as they did so they exchanged a few words.

Naruto couldn't hear what they were saying. He scrunched his nose as he tried to strain his ears.

"...and get him to Biwako-sama for an examination," was the last thing Kakashi said before he passed the scarred man and walked after Inoichi.

Shikaku merely nodded again.

Naruto was currently having an internal battle as to whether or not he should run after the three men, stay with Shikaku, or try and get in contact with Tsunade or someone else that had the authority to—

Naruto blinked.

Tsunade.

Blue eyes looked up at Shikaku, who happened to be staring down at him. He wanted to ask about the female Hokage, but stopped as he met calculating onyx eyes.

He clenched his toes in anticipation, feeling the dirt beneath his bare feet. The small pebbles it contained made him think of the Konoha he had left behind, a Konoha in ruin.

Shaking his head, he asked the question that was bothering him. "Where's Baa-chan?"

Shikaku didn't even blink as he continued to study the boy, making a mental note of the title. Naruto swore he could see a flicker of confusion cross the man's features.

Shikaku didn't answer the boy and unwittingly made Naruto a bit more apprehensive than before.

"Follow me," he finally said.

Naruto was quick to comply as the older man started to walk in the same direction Kakashi and Inoichi had gone. He cast aside all confusion as relief settled into his system. If anyone could help Naruto convince the people of Konoha that this was the real Minato and that he was Naruto – simply in a younger body – it was Tsunade.

Shikaku was having some thoughts running through his mind as well, but they were about completely different matters. He had never been one to know the technique of interrogation – as it was Morino's area – but he did know how to read one's opponent.

Being a shinobi as a profession had left its marks over the years and he had met a lot of people, but he was most certain that this kid would be one of the most unpredictable and incomprehensible there was.

The boy staggering next to him had a behaviour that reminded him of a shinobi with years of field experience, yet he couldn't be older than four. And his vocabulary... what four-year-old could form proper sentences with proper grammar and make no slip-ups? The fact that he also held an appearance that mirrored that of what he'd last seen about four years ago made him wonder where he came from and what his heritage might be. It was obvious this was no ordinary child.

He sighed and looked at the boy from his peripheral vision. They'd barely taken twenty steps and the blond was tumbling around like a new-born fawn. The youngster was quietly following him through the streets, though he was continuously tripping over the smallest of pebble as well as his own feet. Arms were swaying by his side in a manner that reminded the raven of marching shinobi on the field.

He looked back up ahead; a frown etched between his brows.

This kid was reminding him of Minato when he'd been younger: smart and profound, yet a bit temerarious.

Then why was he acting like a klutz with such off-balance? And why did he appear to be so cynical about something? And if it wasn't Minato and his child, then what did their enemies want from Konoha with a situation such as this?

* * *

><p>Goosebumps made their way across his skin as blue irises took in the fragile man lying before him. His eyes were half-closed and his fists clenched as he felt a surge of revulsion make its way up through his body.<p>

He shook his head and quickly dispelled any bad thoughts.

Revulsion wouldn't get him anywhere, and knowing himself, he'd easily let strong emotions overtake him, and that was when he acted without thinking.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was lying down on a futon in the middle of brightly lit room; a blanket covering most of his body. He appeared to be asleep as his breathing was deep and even; his face peaceful.

Naruto felt absolute dread fill his being as he took in the rise and fall of the man's chest. What the hell was up with people coming back from the dead? When striking that deal with Amaterasu, hadn't he talked about retrieving only one soul from the Shinigami's stomach?

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. He knew something off, but for every new thing hitting him in the face like this, he wasn't sure his escalating heartbeat could take much more.

Opening his eyes to look at Sarutobi once more he took his time studying the older man. He was pale; too pale. White hair and gaunt cheeks making him look twice his age.

A woman clothed in a purple kimono, with a white haori covering her shoulders, was leaning over him, her brown eyes filled with concern. She had not asked questions as to why Shikaku had brought an unknown child into the room – she'd only briefly turned her head towards him when they'd entered.

Lightly stroking Sarutobi's hand, she turned her attention towards the two newcomers.

Naruto gulped, barely detecting a masked ANBU entering the room, soundlessly standing by the opening as if waiting for someone.

_Oji-san..._ he dejectedly thought, lowering his gaze as Shikaku left his vision to go speak with the new addition in the room.

Naruto barely took notice to the creak of the door as Shikaku exchanged a couple of words with the brunette, before leaving along with the ANBU.

As a new person once more entered Naruto only noticed the change of chakra, he did not know who the person was.

Letting the air leave his lungs he looked up at the ceiling fan distributing the air.

This couldn't be his Konoha. His village had been in ruins and his precious people severely hurt, physically and mentally, but above everything else, emotionally. All because of one single man and his beliefs in what was right. Nagato had caused all that damage to Konoha, but it was also Nagato who had saved the lives that might have been lost forever.

Blond brows narrowed. Had the Sandaime been revived alongside the villagers and Kakashi? Then why did they look so different from what he could remember? There was a possibility that Nagato had done this, but then why did Inoichi say Minato had been gone for four years and not sixteen?

Feeling a sharp pain by his left temple, Naruto reached up out of reflex. He missed the pounding spot by his head, and instead tickled his ear when his hand brushed by.

He waited a few seconds before letting his hand retreat and then looked down at it for a while.

He had to do something about his coordination. He hadn't given it much thought up until now, as he didn't have the time to think much about anything. All these new expressions had removed his attention from his personal problems.

Having been deep down in his own world, he tensed as a hand landed on his head. He now recognised the chakra signature.

"Kakashi..." he whispered, as if speaking too loud would cause the man laying on the bed even more damage. He swallowed as he felt the man tense. Had he heard him?

Looking up at the man he could no longer say he recognised as his sensei, he tried his best at keeping his voice steady, "Weren't you supposed to keep an eye on the 'intruder'?"

As if having noticed the quotation marks, Kakashi let his eyes fall onto the boy next to him. The blond mop of hair barely reached his upper thigh.

It made him feel old for some reason, not having been around younger children in such a long time.

He cleared his throat.

Deciding to not answer the boy's question he changed the subject. "I assume you already know that you will be treated as a possible enemy ninja up until the contrary has been proven," he stated as Naruto tensed.

The blond turned slightly. "Wha—?"

"You will have to go through a questioning as well," he added.

Blue eyes widened. He hadn't thought of that. "I don't know anything about questioning," he settled upon saying. He'd much rather say 'What the fuck? Can't you see I'm Naruto?' but decided against it.

Kakashi couldn't help but slouch his shoulders a little. The kid was smart; much smarter than other children his age. It reminded Kakashi of himself when he'd been younger. They didn't consider him too much of a threat however, otherwise he wouldn't have been allowed inside the room where their _unconscious _Sandaime Hokage was staying. But at the same time, they didn't dare take anything for granted. Two ANBU had been following the boy since upon his entrance in Konoha.

He told Naruto this.

Naruto scrunched his nose. He hadn't sensed the ANBU following him around, except for the one entering the room after him. And then it hit him: they truly didn't recognise him.

Narrowing his eyes he turned away from Kakashi once more.

He supposed that holding a trial or questioning would be according to protocol, but still, he wished there was an easier way than to interrogate him. Asking him too many questions – resulting in him not having the 'right' answers – could create an even trickier scenario than necessary.

"When can I see him?" he decided to ask, not wanting to be held in the spotlight.

Kakashi understood he meant Minato. "He's being held in confinement for now. He passed out as soon as Yamanaka-san released the jutsu. He won't be awake for another couple of hours."

Naruto clenched his teeth together as he heard this. He knew Minato was in bad shape, but so bad that he'd passed out? And did Kakashi know about his previous slip up with knowing Shikaku's and Inoichi's names.

As if having read his thoughts, Kakashi cleared his throat. "Yamanaka-san told me all about your encounter, so there's no reason to hide anything."

He mused over this information while Kakashi continued to speak to him in the same hushed voice as before.

"He will be interrogated and will most likely have to face a hearing involving a part of the council," he explained and for the first time Naruto looked up at the other male. "It won't be an official hearing. Since it is impersonation of Namikaze Minato we're talking about, it would be best to not make things public."

"What will happen to him after that?" Naruto asked, feeling dread make its way into his being. The council meant those dreaded 'advisors' would be present along with Danzō.

Kakashi went silent before answering. "Depends on whether or not he's found guilty of impersonation."

Naruto snorted. "He _is_ the real deal," he said.

Kakashi gave the kid a look. "We don't know that."

"'We'?"

"The people who knew the real Namikaze."

"But he is real!" Naruto argued back.

Kakashi looked down to the blond standing next to him. He did not say anything for a while and Naruto felt himself grow uncomfortable. _His_ Kakashi never used that look on the people he knew, he usually reserved it for those truly deserving it.

Naruto turned away from him, so Kakashi could only see the blond hair on his head.

However, he could also see as small fists clenched tightly.

"We do not know about either of you. Namikaze Minato disappeared during the war and hasn't been heard from since. The war ended just a few months ago, and you're asking why we're taking precautions and not believing his – and your – every word?" the man countered. "He has been _dead_ to us for four years, and now he's showed up with a kid? It reeks of suspicion."

Naruto didn't answer. There were those 'four years' again. What was up with that? And what war?

Kakashi seemed to notice his confusion, but for some reason he didn't comment upon it.

"Do you want it to be him?" Naruto then asked.

Why couldn't his sensei understand that the Yondaime was back? That he'd managed to talk Amaterasu into bringing him back from the dead to spite the Shinigami?

He scrunched his nose again.

It sounded awful when he put it like that; bringing back the Yondaime only to spite a kami. Also, as they didn't recognise him, Konoha was still standing and people were looking odd, perhaps this wasn't what he thought it was. Was this all a genjutsu?

Cursing his very existence at the moment – and the unbelievable situations he always managed to bring upon himself – he wondered how the hell he was supposed to get himself out of this. And what if it wasn't a genjutsu? But instead, Amaterasu had done something to make them all forget? How was he supposed to tell them about Amaterasu and her games? They'd never believe him if they couldn't even remember him.

He felt an uncomfortable clench in his chest at the thought. Indeed... what if they didn't remember him?

He shook his head and then managed to drag his fingers through the mess he called hair without poking his eyes out.

"Headache?" Kakashi suddenly asked, and Naruto opened his eyes, not realising he'd closed them. He also realised Kakashi had never answered his question.

"'m fine..." he muttered and placed his hands on the back on his head, making sure it looked like he was utterly hassle-free. "So when will he go through the judicial process?"

Kakashi arched a brow at the child's word usage. "Within a week. His DNA, anti-body profile, dental records and chakra profile will be tested and checked, and he'll have to go through some physiological exams as well."

Naruto nodded; glad the man had decided to share this with him. He didn't say anything else as he looked back at the Sandaime where he was laying, embraced by the coverlets. Naruto hadn't even noticed that the woman from before was talking to another medic ninja in a hushed tone. He assumed it was about medical ninjutsu, so he wouldn't understand much of it anyway.

"How'd you meet him?"

Naruto looked up at Kakashi again, not expecting the question. He knew the man meant Minato, because really, who else could he mean.

'By striking a deal with a kami, ending up winning but loosing something I don't even know what it is yet but perhaps my sanity', didn't sound all too well to his ears, but as he thought a bit more about it, he realised that there were nothing else he _could_ tell. It would all be a lie in that case, and he didn't want to lie to his teacher. Also, lying wouldn't help him gain their trust.

Deeply sighing the blond dropped to the floor, sitting down like a tailor. His feet were aching terribly and his calves and thighs had a stretching feeling in them that made them painful to even poke.

Debating the situation a bit more, he decided to finally answer.

"I... did something stupid," he answered with a shrug.

Kakashi exhaled through his nose. "Is he your father?"

Naruto froze as he heard the words. What the hell was he supposed to answer to that? What difference would it make? "I don't..." he reached up to scratch his nose that had an itch, but ended up giving himself a sore eye. "Damn it!" he closed both eyes and let some other colourful words leave his mouth.

Kakashi merely watched the acts of pure stupidity happen before him.

"I see," Kakashi answered and Naruto cursed himself. This could be something real bad.

"Depending on what the council believes of this wholesituation, the possibility of him being executed is not improbable," he then explained, resulting in Naruto looking up at him with wide eyes, "You will be questioned as well."

Composing himself, the left corner of Naruto's mouth lifted to form a sneer or displeasure. "You already mentioned that. So, the two of us will face questioning and depending on our answers and the accuracy of our stories, there could also be a trial, right? And it's in that trial he could face execution? Then what about me? Will I also face execution? On what charges? I mean, what could I have possibly done?"

Underneath the mask, Kakashi's lips tightened. Why was the kid so sharp? "Things in Konoha are unstable," he said, not answering Naruto's question. "To have someone like a deceased Kage-level ninja just showing up out of thin air does awake uncertainty. 'He's got to be an imposter', is what people will think, hence he should be faced with a trial of one. Impersonation of an authority – especially that of a well-known village hero – is a—"

"—serious offense, yeah," Naruto interjected, "Inoichi-san said that before."

The Jōnin nodded. "Then you know why the situation is the way it is."

"But I don't," Naruto kept on going, furiously shaking his head. He noticed that Kakashi hadn't answered the question regarding his own execution. "A questioning would lead them to knowing _his_ version of the story. A trial could sentence him to an unfair punishment as the councilmen will most likely have a finger in the game. What if he's truly sentenced to death? He _is_ the real Minato, he's..." Desperation had leaked into his voice.

Wide eyes looked up at Kakashi and the man felt an extremely uncomfortable feeling gnaw at him. Blinking a couple of times, he said, "Jurisdictional matters are never clear. What makes perfect sense to one person is foolishness to another."

Naruto clenched his teeth. "I still don't like it," he stated firmly.

Kakashi let out an unsmiling exhale. "Me neither. To be honest, I'd rather have the true Namikaze face jurisdiction and live to tell the tale than to have an imposter infiltrating the city under his face and name."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he heard this. "What..." trying to choose his words, he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times; "... are you saying that you believe it's him? That it's ... that it truly is your sensei?"

Kakashi visibly stiffened as he pinned the boy with a glare and Naruto clenched his fists.

_Shit._

Shit, shit, _shit. _He hadn't meant to say that. And Kakashi's reaction only made it that much clearer that this was indeed _not_ the Konoha he'd left behind.

Neither affirming nor denying Naruto's question Kakashi remained silent for a while.

Locking grey eyes with cerulean, he said; "One may always dream, but one may also hope that that dream does not turn out to be a nightmare."

His voice, barely a whisper, held an emotion to it Naruto couldn't pin. Nothing was showing on the stoic man's face though. He was a trained shinobi and shinobi do not show their emotions.

The brunette medic ninja turned her head towards them, letting her attention leave the Sandaime. Naruto assumed she'd heard what Kakashi had said.

Naruto swallowed.

"It's a part of life to hope," the man continued as if nothing had happened. "Your questioning can be held as soon as Biwako here has got a chance to check you over."

Biwako? He'd never heard that name before. Clearing his throat, Naruto answered, "Could I get something to eat as well?"

Kakashi looked down at the kid again. Giving Naruto a calculating look he placed his chakra-packed hand on the kid's head and then let his eyes close.

Kakashi had done it so suddenly that Naruto tensed his muscles and actually flinched. Not knowing why Kakashi had decided to do that; he blinked in confusion.

None of them said anything as Naruto felt Kakashi's chakra spread from his head and down his body, taking in what appeared to be the boy's own chakra.

He wasn't sure whether or not Kakashi could see the dissimilarity between different user's chakra – since the chakra coil system was unique to every user. It felt as if he'd been dipped it boiling hot water.

Opening his eyes, Kakashi let out a breath. He looked away from the blond and appeared to be thinking.

If this wasn't awkward and weird, Naruto didn't know what was.

A fifth person decided to enter the room at that exact moment, leaving Naruto unsure as to whether or not he should thank the guy or smack him upside the head for interrupting his only way of getting info of the situation at hand.

He quickly let those feelings subside as he took notice to who the person was.

_ANBU?_ he wondered as he took in the form of the masked male standing in the doorway.

"Your presence has been requested, Hatake-san," the ANBU said with a small bow.

Kakashi looked over at the man with a sigh. "...politics," he rancorously muttered under his breath as he walked over to the other shinobi. "Biwako-sama, please take care of the boy while I'm gone, and see if there's any food to give him."

Blue eyes blinked again. For some reason, he felt sleepy all of a sudden. What had Kakashi done to him?

"As if I'd let a boy starve," the brunette retorted in a raspy voice. "Go take care of whatever business the old coot has issued you with, Kakashi-chan."

Kakashi nodded and then looked up at the ANBU as he walked out the room. Naruto did not miss the look the two shared as he'd turned to stare at the door.

Turning back around, he nearly fell over in fright. Onyx eyes were staring at him from beneath brown furrowed brows.

His lips twitched, as he raised a hand in greeting. "Hello," he uttered.

"Don't you 'hello' me, child. When was the last time you had a proper meal? And what are you wearing? Is that a man's shirt? If that truly is Minato, he's in dire need of a talk or two. This is no way to treat a child," she growled and put her hands on her hips in a scolding manner.

Naruto gulped.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was staring at Shikaku who was looking through some papers. So far they'd only gathered data regarding the imposter's physical appearance.<p>

Appearance-wise the male held similar facial structure, colouration, weight and height to that of Namikaze Minato – they were still waiting for the DNA, blood-type, anti-body profile, dental records and chakra profile results.

His mental state they could not say much about. Inoichi had tried to get into the outer layers of the man's mind, but it had been futile. He'd been met by wall after wall he could not penetrate.

Though there was more than just this matter bothering the two Jōnin.

Danzō had somehow found out about a shinobi returning to the village along with a child; a shinobi holding an eerie resemblance to Namikaze Minato. He'd come in contact with Kakashi while Shikaku was with the child, they'd switched when Danzō had requested Shikaku's presence for the monitoring.

"Well?" Kakashi asked as Shikaku continued to read the documents.

The Jōnin looked up at him and cleared his throat. "There's just as much saying that it is Namikaze as well as saying it is not. We'll have to get past the barriers he has put up to learn more. So far we haven't had any success. We cannot be sure until then."

Shikaku crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back in the chair he was currently occupying.

Kakashi sighed. He was standing in front of the small desk Shikaku inhabited. He studied all the papers lying in front of them.

Danzō was standing just behind Kakashi, his face cleared of emotion.

"What about his physical appearance then?" Kakashi continued in a low voice. "Not even a henge can be that accurate, and you saw the injuries on his arms and hands. A henge would have been dispelled while attaining such an injury."

"True," Danzō admitted as he moved away from his current position to walk over to Kakashi. Standing right in front of Kakashi, he continued, "But for someone to even _try_ and imitate Konoha's Yellow Flash..."

Kakashi nodded, understanding what the man was getting at. "But if it is a henge – an exceedingly skilled one if so – what nation does he come from? What nation could possibly send a ninja of such high skill to infiltrate Konoha? What nation could know his appearance so well?"

Shikaku clicked his tongue. "He's been gone for four years, Hatake-san. Wherever he went, we cannot lay aside the probability of him getting captured by the enemy. When he just disappeared during the first year of the war, he'd started to truly make a name for himself. I wouldn't be surprised if the enemy wanted to seize the opportunity to later turn the tables when we least expect it."

Kakashi nodded, he knew that.

Danzō nodded as well. "The enemy could have kept him alive for months, studying him and his techniques. Years even."

Kakashi clenched his jaws.

"Are you to interrogate him, Hatake-san?"

The sudden question caused Kakashi to clench his jaws as he tried to focus on the present. He forced his body to release the tension in his muscles. Looking up at Danzō he noticed that the man had walked over to one of the windows and was studying whatever it was that interested him.

"Out of all the people in Konoha at the moment, you are the one that knew him best," the man continued.

He pondered over the request.

He knew Danzō had something up his sleeve. He knew Kakashi had never overcome the fact that his sensei had disappeared on the field; that he'd never walked through the gates of Konoha when survivors had started to stream in after the war had ended.

Minato had helped him when no one else had wanted to. The fact that Minato knew what it was like to be treated differently when young – due to ingenuity, potential and extreme expectations – made it easier for him to be understood by the other male.

If he had to confront the ghost of his sensei, he wasn't sure how he was going to react. When Shikaku and Inoichi had entered the village with that imposter in tow, he had felt his insides twist and turn. He'd wanted to throw up due to the nausea.

It _hurt_ to see Minato's face again. But when that boy had kept insisting that it truly was Minato, it hurt even more. What hurt the absolute most though was that that boy even existed. The child look eerily much like Minato, and had Minato been alive and well all these years, fathering a child in the process, he didn't know what to say or do.

"Hatake-san."

Kakashi looked up at his superior and realised he'd been sinking deeper into his thoughts than he should have.

Clearing his throat, he finally gave the other two his answer. "I agree with you. I am the most qualified to interrogate him. What is it we need to find out?"

Shikaku gave him a look from where he was seated, but did not comment on his comrade's decision.

"Anything that proves that he isn't the Yellow Flash," their superior answered. "Ask for favourite things, hobbies, certain moments, memories or events that only the real person would know. If he says things that you remember are contrary to the truth, take notes and we'll see where it takes us."

Kakashi noticed the man never referred to Minato by his name, but only by his titles. "And the child?"

Danzō arched his visible brow. "The boy can't be too much of a concern. What is he? Five? He could not possibly know anything of importance."

"He'd incredibly perspective," Kakashi simply answered, ignoring Danzō's unwillingness to see the importance of the child's presence. "He shows signs of being intellectually advanced as well, way beyond his age group." He did not mention that he had noted the boy's immense chakra reserves.

"Be that as it may, I guess he will have to go through questioning regarding the imposter's true identity. After that we could try and have him incorporated into the Konoha lifestyle. If he's as mentally advanced as you say, Hatake-san, he could be a great resource in a couple of years," Danzō insisted.

Kakashi nodded, trying to ignore the way the man was so casually handling the boy's future. He did have a point though, and he saw no reason to argue with him.

"Has Biwako-sama examined him yet?" Danzō suddenly asked. "We'll have to record his physical traits and mental capacity."

The silver-haired male slowly turned his eyes to look at the other man for the first time since he'd entered. "I left him with her to join you; I believe she's performing the examination as we speak," he genuinely answered.

Shikaku squinted, stroking the beard on his chin.

"And who will question him? Biwako is no interrogator," Shikaku added, keeping his eyes on his elder. He was rather certain that the reason for Danzō being here and requesting Kakashi by the intruder's side was partly to keep him away from the boy. But why?

"One of my ROOT can—"

"I'll deal with it," Shikaku interrupted. Danzō didn't even look at him. "I know the perfect candidate."

As soon as Danzō had mentioned bringing ANBU into this mess, Shikaku knew that he wouldn't let it rest until he got one of his men in there. It was obvious there was _something_ he wanted with the boy. The true question was _what_.

The Nara genius' was already coming up with dozens of theories regarding the matter.

Danzō showed no outer sign of frustration – if there was any – so when he nodded, he actually surprised the two Jōnin.

"I trust your judgement, Nara-san. As for the imposter's questioning, due to the circumstances, it would be good to have you there as well."

_Of course he had something else to say,_ Shikaku thought with a sigh. "'Due to the circumstances'?" he repeated, and Danzō slowly turned his head towards him.

"Yes," he began. "Konohagakure is in a weakened state after the war. Your way with words will give us the upper hand if it happens to be so that this truly is an imposter."

Shikaku sent the man a stern glance as silence occurred. Without breaking eye contact, Danzō tilted his head at the Nara.

"I shall take my leave now," he said. "I expect to hear from you afterwards."

"Danzō-sama," Kakashi and Shikaku echoed and bowed.

Kakashi straightened his posture once more. There was no word to describe the feeling in his body right now. If there were a stronger word than hate, it would fit perfectly for the man with the x-shaped scar on his chin.

He let out a long breath before nodding his head towards Shikaku. As he was walking towards the door, the raven called his name.

Kakashi turned around once more. "I meant it when I said I'll deal with it. I know which two to bring to the boy's questioning," Shikaku said, and Kakashi arched a brow.

He shook his head. "If you're certain..." he muttered under his breath.

With those words he exited the room and went to find the boy.

* * *

><p>Naruto stared down at the food in his bowl; chopsticks thrown on the floor in frustration.<p>

He couldn't use his fine motor skills properly.

He'd been ready to eat a horse, but when he had actually started to eat he hadn't felt as famished anymore. His mind had been too preoccupied with Minato having to go through a hearing. Adding the fact that he'd kept on dropping his chopsticks, missing his mouth and poking his nose and chin, he'd felt too depressed to eat any more of the food.

"My child," Biwako's voice made its way through his wonderings.

She was looking at him with a hesitant look as he dreamily started to play with the bowl of food on his lap.

Trying to ease the tension a bit, she asked, "Do you think my cooking is that bad?"

Naruto sighed and slowly looked down at the food. It was cooked vegetables with rice. He sluggishly looked up at her and shook his head. There was nothing wrong with it; he just had so much to think about that his stomach had shut down for some reason.

He told her this.

Biwako genuinely smiled at that, though it was strained to a certain degree.

"When you start to eat you'll feel the hunger returning. I know you have a lot on your mind, my child, but that doesn't mean you should give up on eating. Baka."

The right corner of Naruto's mouth twitched. The more the woman spoke, the more he liked her. Even though he'd never met her in the Konoha he'd grown up in, it was nice to see her here. It made him more at ease.

It was obvious that she held her own suspicions regarding his state, but it was even more obvious that she was trying her best to keep an open mind and not let anything anyone had told her about him affect her.

While the food had been cooking, she'd performed a regular check-up searching for injuries, as well as getting him some fitting clothes; a red happi coat and a pair of grey trousers in the right size. He hadn't attained any physical injury except for muscle strain.

She had even taken some of his blood after giving him a computing look, saying that they needed it for deoxyribonucleic acid and anti-body testing. Having no idea what that meant, the blond merely shook his head and let her take the blood she needed.

He looked down at his food again. Taking one of the vegetables, he brought it to his mouth and started eating.


End file.
